Mend: a personal exploration of healing

Niederhumer, Gina

Mend: a personal exploration of healing

Master Thesis

2016

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Michaelis School of Fine Art

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

As the title suggests, this dissertation text deals with repair, and while 'mending' also refers to sewing, here I use it in conjunction with healing and the transformation of an inner conflict. Coming from a family of embroiderers in Austria I use needle and thread as my tools and physical objects as triggers in search of what has been forgotten or repressed. The work centers largely around a shared history between my mother and myself, which though marked by many separations, the love for needlework connects us again and provides a meeting place that bridges the divide caused by absences in the past and in the present. Divided into two columns, 'academic' and 'personal', in subtitled paragraphs elaborate and reflect on 'memory', 'family narrative', 'trauma', 'needlework' and 'art-making as a way of personal transformation' in an attempt to understand the story of my life and how it fits into the larger family narrative. The catalog section of the text lists the art works that resulted from this engagement with my personal story, while the accompanying artists book offers an in-death view into the process.

Keywords

Fine Art

Reference:

Collections

Masters

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