Her Hands / My Hands

Her Hands / My Hands
40” x 70” x 12” (on 14” pedestal) / 102 cm x 178 cm x 31 cm (on 36 cm pedestal)
Mixed media: mannequin hands, velvet, board, prayer books, reproductions, polymer clay, pins, etc.
2023

Her Hands / My Hands is a landscape of memories associated with my grandmother’s labor as a sought-after seamstress in Istanbul, and her religious devotion, indicated through the presence of prayer books (reproduced and actual). Inspired by ornate Eastern Orthodox medieval reliquaries, I map out prayers in her honor. I use reproductions from her prayer books and repeat certain words: “Lord,” “God,” and “Holy” (in Armenian) as a spiritual incantation. As a symbol of craft, antique mannequin hands punctuate the landscape, reaching for the books or handling waves of fabric that billow in and out. Other elements related to sewing are integrated into the landscape: small, button-like sculptures made from clay; and actual sewing patterns, zippers, and pins. The sculpture is my way of remembering her by building a sacred and fantastical architecture based on memories and associations. The process of creating a new landscape helps negate the loss that I feel.