Christine Meuris
Signs & Symbols, 2023
In this body of work, I’ve continued creating imagined material relics of a society bearing the “signs and symbols” of the world in which it arose. Pushing my familiar materials -- dyeing stiff tarlatan fabric to make it colorful and soft; printing on mulberry paper to add pattern and color -- I am developing a visual language of frayed linen applique, paper-thread lines, sewn paper, and symmetrical paper cuts with their internal symbology.
I have drawn on the traditions of Hawaiian Kapa (mulberry bark cloth), Kirigami (Japanese paper cutting), and quilt applique as both repair and decoration. I owe a great debt to these traditions and the artists who practice(d) them.
Washed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen and thread. 39" x22",2023 In private collection.
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen and thread, 31" x 31", 2023
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen and thread. 34" x 16", 2023
Dyed tarlatan, mulberry paper, sumi ink and thread. 42" x 32", 2023
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen and thread. Dimensions variable, 2023.
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen and thread. Dimensions variable, 2023.
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen and thread. 61" x 34", 2023. In private collection.
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen and thread. 61" x 34", 2023. In private collection.
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen, and thread. 66" x 34", 2023
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen, and thread. 66" x 34", 2023
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen, and thread. 62" x 34", 2023
Dyed tarlatan, hand-printed mulberry paper, linen, and thread. 62" x 34", 2023