Tessa Cammell
Wooden Quilt
I am interested in what impact the intersection and interaction between male and female influences have on the making of art. This interest stems from Lucy R. Lippard's theories on women's need to make emotional connections to their foremothers.
Craft is often a way to express this need and thus is considered 'women's' or 'amateur' work. Similarly, as a female in my family, my being an artist has been overlooked.
However, these attitudes may originate from a patriarchal society which remains dominant today.
Employing the quilt as a motif helps to bridge fixed gender roles.
Maintaining quilt methods of my foremothers, such as following a pattern, keeping to dimensions of a standard double quilt size and carefully aligned squares, could be viewed as 'feminine'.
Such methods encourage the viewer to consider traditional crafts of women.
Materials such as wood and steel, with hard and heavy qualities, are often considered as having masculine traits. Using my forefathers' methods allows my practice to be modular and adaptable - all materials can be put back to where they came from and used again, honouring the history of the materials.
By employing masculine and feminine methodologies, it is possible to embody both genders' characteristics.
