Sophie Zeman-Hale
Artist Statement
Through abstracted woven compositions, I examine the relationship between the body and the process of weaving. Weavings and bodies both begin as a form of code, a genetics that is translated into a constructed whole. An erroneous variation in this code is both a flaw and a possibility.
The mechanical limitations imposed by the loom parallel the inherent physiological limitations of the human body, particularly the disabled body. As a weaver, I must accommodate both my work and my body to the loom and its limitations. In doing so, I create things that would not be possible without these limitations.
Much of my work utilizes medical or scientific imagery as a source for abstraction. Microscopic views of muscle tissue, protein structures, moss or algae blooms mutate into abstracted compositions. I frequently work using double weave cloth, which allows for different layers and structures to overtake each other. Certain sections are woven less densely, which distorts the woven grid of interlacing threads. The layers of cloth obscure or reveal, and warp and weft meet to create unpredictable forms. One weaving may become a starting place for the next, and thus the entire body of work mutates and evolves.
Through abstracted woven compositions, I examine the relationship between the body and the process of weaving. Weavings and bodies both begin as a form of code, a genetics that is translated into a constructed whole. An erroneous variation in this code is both a flaw and a possibility.
The mechanical limitations imposed by the loom parallel the inherent physiological limitations of the human body, particularly the disabled body. As a weaver, I must accommodate both my work and my body to the loom and its limitations. In doing so, I create things that would not be possible without these limitations.
Much of my work utilizes medical or scientific imagery as a source for abstraction. Microscopic views of muscle tissue, protein structures, moss or algae blooms mutate into abstracted compositions. I frequently work using double weave cloth, which allows for different layers and structures to overtake each other. Certain sections are woven less densely, which distorts the woven grid of interlacing threads. The layers of cloth obscure or reveal, and warp and weft meet to create unpredictable forms. One weaving may become a starting place for the next, and thus the entire body of work mutates and evolves.