Swimming with my Ancestors

Ribbon skirt, 2020.

 

This piece is the creative result of a dream about swimming with my Ancestor grandmothers with their names stitched in beadwork on a series of velvet ribbons (one ribbon is left blank in honour of my future ancestor grandmothers). Water plays a significant role in this piece as it embeds itself within every inch of the ribbon skirt, deeply soaking between the beads and the textile’s weave. In water, the fabric's weight presses against my skin, fostering a new relationship between my body and the materiality of the skirt itself. With this performance, I am no longer wearing the skirt alone. I am wearing this skirt with my grandmothers. ​

​