In an age of unpredictable weather patterns, fluctuating temperatures and rising water one cannot escape uncertainty. We have observed over the last half century global conversations surrounding climate change moving from the language of prevention to acceptance and adaptation. With this in mind one can be forgiven if overcome with feelings of powerlessness.
I Am Daughter considers the unknowingness of today through abstracted recordings and translations of celestial and terrestrial phenomena in the form of sculpture and installation. The large-scale works are made from materials ranging from handmade paper to cement, ceramic, brass and hand-dyed silks and are inspired by fourth century Orphic totempässes. These totempässes (passports for the dead) attributed to cultic burial practices, are tiny gold foil tablets that provide the deceased instructions for how to negotiate the landscape of the dead.
As our planet faces challenging times I long for instructions on how to negotiate the unknown. I think of these words written by Carl Sagan, “We are the custodians of life’s meaning.” While certainty is not in our future, I can recognize the beauty that surrounds me, I can collaborate with the movement of the sun and seek moments of contemplation and wonder. The works in I Am Daughter consider our position during this moment of anxiety and are my meditations on time, reverence and contingency.
2022 | hand dyed silk, brass | 144” x 960”
2022 | handmade paper from abaca, sisal, flax, and hemp, cotton, ink, metal leaf, watercolor | 144” x 288” x 432” (marks charting the sun’s path at sunrise during the 2022 summer solstice)
2022 | cotton, polyester, cement, ceramic, handmade paper from abaca & flax, hydrocal, metal leaf, encaustic | 120” x 180” x 18”
2022, brass, 1.5” x 1”
I Am Daughter | A solo exhibition by Marie Bannerot McInerney
In an age of unpredictable weather patterns, fluctuating temperatures and rising water one cannot escape uncertainty. We have observed over the last half century global conversations surrounding climate change moving from the language of prevention to acceptance and adaptation. With this in mind one can be forgiven if overcome with feelings of powerlessness.
I Am Daughter considers the unknowingness of today through abstracted recordings and translations of celestial and terrestrial phenomena in the form of sculpture and installation. The large-scale works are made from materials ranging from handmade paper to cement, ceramic, brass and hand-dyed silks and are inspired by fourth century Orphic totempässes. These totempässes (passports for the dead) attributed to cultic burial practices, are tiny gold foil tablets that provide the deceased instructions for how to negotiate the landscape of the dead.
As our planet faces challenging times I long for instructions on how to negotiate the unknown. I think of these words written by Carl Sagan, “We are the custodians of life’s meaning.” While certainty is not in our future, I can recognize the beauty that surrounds me, I can collaborate with the movement of the sun and seek moments of contemplation and wonder. The works in I Am Daughter consider our position during this moment of anxiety and are my meditations on time, reverence and contingency.
Deep gratitude to Kansas City Art Institute fiber department majors Jessica Barbosa, Haley Mitchell and Abbie Stabno for lending their talents to this project.
Documentation: EG Schempf