Prayer Flags
“Prayer Flags” is an installation piece dedicated to my mother and my other female ancestors. The title makes reference to Tibetan Prayer Flags, which are strung in the wilderness and allowed to decay and send their prayers into the wind. However, just as each”flag” is composed of layers, there are layers of meaning in the piece. The installation is composed of embroidery, photos printed on fabric, and collage elements mounted on vintage handkerchiefs that belonged to my mother and aunts.When installed in the woods, the ephemeral quality of experience and connection with the sacred in nature is emphasized. However, when the piece is installed in my Brooklyn backyard, the references to Women’s Work become more prominent. Images of Ellis Island in decay reference my immigrant ancestors’ experience and their labor in sweatshops. In this context, Prayer Flags become reminiscent of tenement laundry lines and speak of women all around the world who , like my mother, sacrifice their own creative ambitions while performing unpaid domestic labor in the service of others.
