Handwoven handspun and dyed wool + cotton, basswood, hardware.

39” x 56”

Gutwrencher is the first large scale work into the conceptual base I've been exploring for the past few months. Using handwoven overshot cloth as a direct analog for the queer body, I explore beyond the limits of the physical form in pursuit of a utopian constructed "body". Overshot is a weave structure with an inherently unstable history, and its largely invented place in the Western weaving canon mimics the invented categories queer people are forced to exist within. In this moment of incredible restriction to queer self-expression, I want to explore the possibilities in alterations/augmentations/modifications beyond the limits of our human bodies, what potential is there in gutting/flaying/amputation in pursuit of a utopian constructed form? I'm aiming to break down the preciousness of handwoven cloth and by extension, the flesh of the bodies it represents. The loom is my operating theater and I aim to see how far I can push the forms I create under the shuttle's knife.


Technical information:
Warp/Tabby Weft: Georgia Yarn Company 10/2 unmercerized cotton
Pattern Wefts: Hand dyed/spun 2-ply Cheviot wool (blue), Maurice Brassard Blue Mountain Wool (red)
Overshot doublecloth woven on TC2.