Bones
I had began making small bones in 2010, when my mother, 89 at the time, was declining in health and strength and nearing the end of her life. It was a way to hold onto her, to honor her and stay connected while living at a distance from her. I was also drawing on my own physical experience of aging, undergoing bone-density testing and understanding how structural, hidden and under appreciated our bones are.
Bones are also what remains, artifacts of our lives. The wrapped bones series were inspired by my trip to Peru in 2014 for the exhibition Visions/Visiones in Cusco, Peru.The Incan mummies in the Qorikancha, as well as Chancay dolls made by indigenous Andean women were influences of this work.
They are my own personal ritual objects but reference the many ways cultures imbue bones with spiritual and sometimes magical powers. The Rune Fragments series were part of this thinking (see images in Not Just One Thing folder).