This body of work combines weaving, embroidery and text to illuminate the current fragile state of our country and our democracy. The populace suffers while political players manipulate information, sowing distortion, confusion and polarization.

Weavings contain lacunae, large open areas, alluding to the disintegration of institutions and disappearance of documents. A piece titled Lesson Learned asks viewers to write a repeated line on a blackboard, “There are no principles, only interests,” reminiscent of punishment for bad behavior in school. The quote is sometimes preceded by the words, “In politics,” but I have been unable to find the source of the quotation. The imagery and text in a cross-stitched sampler reflect our society’s polarization. I use color as a symbol, selected for its meaning: black and white for text; rainbow colored warp representing marginalized populations; red and blue for the two major US political parties. Two jainamaaz (prayer rugs) offer reminders on how to resist polarizing forces. The images woven on the rugs are voice prints of the recordings heard on the headphones.

Producing the work presented in this show, woven, embroidered and written, required my concentration, attention to detail and sometimes repair or reworking, much as sustaining a democracy requires engaged participation and persistence to meet one another “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing. . .” (Rumi).