-
Artworks
Stephanie Lerma
American Sampler, 2019Handmade paper, embroidery12 x 96 x 96 in
Price upon request. Artworks available individually or as an installation.
From the artist:
I: make accumulate repeat obsess struggle tell.
It is: constant urgent unavoidable abundant survival purposeful work.
I feel: fear purged panic pain release surrender joy.
Twenty years ago, I began a project about domestic violence. I began the work as an act of protest against the war in Iraq. So much time, money and media was being extended to wars abroad; I wanted to bring attention to those here.
Twenty years later, "American Sampler" is a series of 50 small children's garments, each representing a US state. Domestic and sexual violence statistics have been hand-embroidered to correspond with data available for each state. Clothing was handmade from cotton pulp and sewn together. Each dress represents social accountability and human fragility; each stands as a silent witness to violence. I hope that by telling my own story, I might be telling a similar story for others.
We speak of wars as if they only exist in faraway places. Most times, they exist just outside (or inside) our own doors.Copyright The ArtistFurther images
