Within
this Land

LeClaire RD, IowA
2019
Scale: 8" x 10"
Materials: Hand embroidery on cotton
Taking Google Earth images, I transfer the basic outline onto cotton fabric and hand embroider the cultivated land, roads, and plots of residential living. My initial goal with these works was to focus on land use and the relative difference of square footage from farmland to what we live on. With an intent to discuss sustainable farming practices, the project became entrenched in ideas of labor and class as well. We don’t own the land or the food that grows on it, but what happens when we can no longer afford to buy either?
The embroideries get stretched around a wooden frame that make the textiles look like a block of land cut out from the dirt. The block shape reminiscent of a dug grave that serves as a reminder that we all become a part of the earth eventually, no matter who owns what. Heavily contextualized with Marxist ideas, Within This Land is a meditative practice that continues to evolve alongside other projects.

West of Huntley, Illinois
2023
Scale: 13" x 8"

Terry county, Texas; intersection of two dirt roads
2023
Scale: 10" x 10"

Scale: 48" x 36"
