Redwork: The Emperor of Atlantis (detail), 2023, mixed media including antique textiles and embroidery, dimensions variable. Photograph by the artist.
Making –– Redwork: The Emperor of Atlantis
Catherine Heard
Curated by Pam Patterson
Catherine Heard’s exhibition Making –– Redwork: The Emperor of Atlantis employs the creative form of the graphic novel to reflect on the five-year process of creating a community-based textile installation. Her narrative emphasizes subjectivity, revealing the complexities, uncertainties, and anxieties of producing a work of art.
Making –– Redwork: The Emperor of Atlantis (detail), 2023, Photo Comic, Dimensions variable. Photograph by the artist.
The installation camouflages scenes of war, injustice, and resistance in a patchwork of antique redwork embroideries. Patriotic imagery, homey domestic scenes and fairy tale characters are juxtaposed with embroideries of traumatic events, raising questions about how history is recorded in the domestic sphere and the stories we tell ourselves as we try to make sense of the world in which we live. Artist Talks/Workshops are being offered for the OCAD Community on Nov 2, 12 - 2.30 PM and Nov 7, 12 – 2.30 PM (online) and Oct 25, 12-3 PM (in-person), ODESI Gallery, Room 316, 100 McCaul Street.
Free patterns for the online workshops need to be ordered ahead of time. To order an embroidery pattern, please fill in the Google form: https://forms.gle/bUcQWGznkSDbZS7f9. Supplies are provided for the in-person session.
Catherine Heard gratefully acknowledges the support of the University of Windsor Women’s Research Fund, The University of Windsor Ignite Work Study Program for funding studio assistants, and the University of Windsor Humanities Research Group, where she is the 2023-24 HRG Fellow.
Pam Patterson and 113Research gratefully acknowledge the support of Ashok Mathur, VP of Research, and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Sustainability Initiatives (ODESI) for this project (exhibition, public talks, and workshops). For more information, please visit: https://www.113research.ca/p/2023-2024-projects.html