pinion (2021) ‍

pinion (work in progress) 2021 ‍

Presented at Excuse the Art hosted by Fly on a Wall at The Windmill Arts Center 2021.

pinion moves through the terrain of personal and collective grief using storytelling, projection, improvisation, and textiles. Inspiration for this work comes from processing the loss of an entire maternal line in a short span of time, and the comfort found in nature while grieving—especially in encounters with birds that felt like messages from beyond.

The work takes its title from the act of pinioning, clipping a bird’s wings to prevent flight—a metaphor for grief’s grounding force and the longing for freedom that remains within it. Created in the shadow of both personal bereavement and the collective grief of 2020, pinion moves between stillness and flight, weaving together imagery, sensation, and memory.

photos: Christina J Massad