Half Mourning (hand-dyed devoré fabric, synthetic hair, embroidery hoop)
October 29 – November 30, 2012
Daily until 12 a.m., best viewed after dusk
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
911 Davenport Road
Toronto, ON M6G 2B7
E: info@weseeinc.com
Half Mourning is part of an arched body of work revolving around prolonged attachment and control of image. Integrated is a sense of female occupation and traditional views of women’s craft. Half Mourning is comprised of a mass of bleached blond synthetic hair meticulously embroidered into jet-black velvet that is hand-dyed and treated with devoré to reveal lace patterning. This sculptural piece evokes the sense of a body represented in cloaking devices.
For the Mourning series, Waxer drew much inspiration and understanding from societies at pivotal moments of innovation and class change. In particular focusing on England’s Victorian era, when elaborate systems were in place to control public and private images of women. These systems of control were extended in Victorian society to how women publicly grieve. The regimented structure of loss perfectly set the stage for a melancholic state.
Meichen Waxer is a Toronto-based multi-disiplinary artist working primarily in photography, textile-based sculpture and painting.
Artist’s website: http://www.meichenwaxer.com/