Fleshmap: My Embroidered, Bipolar Geographies
Raleigh, NC, USA - This work by textile artist Jennifer Markowitz is really something special. The works you will see below are hand-embroidered on a distressed and stiffened nylon slip, and they are just stunning. One of Jennifer’s pieces, which you will see below, is entitled Fleshmap Panel #11: “New York September 1998-1999”. This was chosen out of thousands of pieces to be a part of the NC Artists Exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. Due to social distancing restrictions, the exhibition was shut down after it’s opening night reception, meaning Jennifer has missed out on the incredible amount of exposure her work deserves.
From the submission:
In my current series, Fleshmap: My Embroidered, Bipolar Geographies, I use thread to circumnavigate my own bipolar disorder by mapping the geography of memory in all its disarray and confusion. Through relentless re-visits of intimate terrains, I have mapped a life frequently interrupted by mental illness. Each of the 16 completed, hand-embroidered panels excavates personal events beginning in 1985 and spanning several US cities as well as multiple international relocations. Within each panel are images and text pulled from memories, traumas, confusions, artifacts and maps. Fleshmap invites the viewer to physically travel through an unflinching navigation between memory and place.
Below, you will see Jennifer’s piece that was chosen for the NC Artist’s exhibit (A front view, back view, and a detail shot), and another piece entitled Fleshmap Panel #15 “UK/Iceland/Mexico, 2007-2010” (A front view, and a detail shot).
To see more of Jennifer’s work, please visit the official website of this collection, or find her on Instagram!
Fleshmap Panel #11: “New York September 1998-February 1999” - FRONT VIEW
Fleshmap Panel #11: “New York September 1998-February 1999” - BACK VIEW
Fleshmap Panel #11: “New York September 1998-February 1999”- DETAIL VIEW
Fleshmap Panel #15 "UK/Iceland/Mexico, 2007-2010" - FRONT VIEW
Fleshmap Panel #15 "UK/Iceland/Mexico, 2007-2010"- DETAIL VIEW