Louise Bourgeois (25 December 1911 – 31 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker.
Bourgeois’ work is very much confessional; she discusses her life traumas through her art.
‘Hours of The Day’ (Fig 31) is a fabric book made up of several pages of art that shows a time of waiting, depending on someone and needing them to return.
The sewn text from the first page of ‘Hours of the day’ reads ‘I am waiting for you, I will not abandon you, I can wait for you, I will wait for you, Do not abandon me’. This shows desperation and, perhaps, the need to not be abandoned again as she was, she felt, by her parents at such a young age. The use of sewing is very much a fixing process; joining the two parts and making them whole.
‘Sewing relates Bourgeois’ fears for separation and abandonment. Sewing is a joining together of pieces. It is a device that corresponds to alleviation of the fear of separation. If the cut is a wound, then the sewing brings things together, it is a form of reparation.’ (Celant, G. 2010, P. 19)
In my own work, the use of stitch, as well as text, is very common. I like to explore the way that text can affect the outcome of the art.
Sources
Celant, G (2010). The Fabric Works. Italy: Skira Editore.
