Hanna Washburn

"This work embodies my varied and contradictory relationship with my home during “Shelter in Place.” Because I work with recycled clothing and textiles, I think about domestic space and memory while I build my forms. I sew largely by hand, and the labor of creating these pieces is important. I spend a lot of time with my materials, thinking about their history. Brightly patterned fabrics reminiscent of childhood are stitched alongside more modest floral patterns indicating domesticity. The form confronts the viewer with vibrant confidence, but is slightly slumped and weighted down. This is my quarantine self-portrait."

"Much of my work emulates aspects of the home, and is constructed from domestic materials: recycled clothing, bed sheets, curtains, furniture, and found objects. This particular work, constructed from sweater cuffs, speaks to the internal warm glow of a home or a body. Stitching together the cuffs creates an impossible garment with too many openings. Concealing the original varied colors with painted shades of green brings order to the composition. In a time of such uncertainty, I find opportunities to exercise agency in my practice."