EXIT STRATEGIES

House/Hive: The Flood

72” x 120” | February 2019 | Sewn blueprints, collaged found papers, acrylic and embroidery floss

UNM-Taos Atrium Gallery Show

House/Hive: The Flood

There was a flood,

or there will be a flood,

and houses will sink into wet.

There is a hive,

a home,

a honeycomb labyrinth.

Follow Ariadne,

her thread will give

safe passage through.

When Persephone goes below,

the earth grows cold.

when the queenbee leaves,

will the hive collapse?

House/Hive: The Flood is constructed of recycled architectural drawings for a home (thanks to Suby Bowden) sewn together into a sheet 5x9 ft long. It raises themes of ecological damage including hive collapse syndrome and flooding due to climate change. My recurring dreams of sinking houses and homes as labyrinths connect to these global topics, and these themes of floods and labyrinths occur throughout my work.

The found honeycomb drawing with the grey cells of the comb made me think of hive collapse, or what happens when the queen bee leaves, and the connection to home. The large blueprint drawn in the center is the floorplan of my own home. Paths through this labyrinth are hand-stitched in red threads, calling on the story of Goddess Ariadne to help us all find a way out.