Can you tell us about your STORYWEAR art pieces at Covet + Lou?

I have been making artist books for years but during Quarantine in 2020, I decided to explore and explode the notion of the book—can a dress become a book if it is a vehicle for text? I dug out the big bag of antique doll and baby clothes from the early 1900s that I had slowly collected, piece by piece, and started to experiment.

Searching for the right text to transcribe onto the garments, I suddenly realized my own short stories would have just the right tension I was looking for. The push/pull of femininity and feminism, the preciousness of these dainty dresses with the modern language of a contemporary woman artist. It all clicked.

How did this project start?

Women’s empowerment is a huge force in my written and visual work. The 2020 lockdown gave me the time I needed to connect the dots between all my interests and collections. Suddenly I was home for the most extended period of time in my life and felt both free and imprisoned. It was a weird combination.

Are the antique baby garments thrifted? What is the significance behind these garments?

All the antique baby and doll garments are sourced from flea markets. I grew up going to flea markets and tag sales and graduated to dumpster diving and trash picking. The thrill of the hunt is a driving force, but the main motivation is rescuing history, women’s history.

These 100 year old pieces are amazing works of skill—the thousands of hand sewn stitches, the hours of work. The simple act of framing them presents them as the art that they are and my intention is for my added text to reanimate the clothes, bringing the women who made them, the children who wore them, back to life.