Mary Jones
Nipmuc and Pocumtuc land - Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA —
nearest ocean:
Northern Atlantic
European Heritage, Adult (31 - 49 years old)
About the art
I imagined this piece while in Puerto Rico for the 2020 Environmental Grantmakers Association Retreat. The event focused on environmental justice issues of the island in the context of its recovery from Hurricane Maria. During one of the retreat's field trips, I took a photo of a street cat crouched peacefully next to a starling in old San Juan. Although it was a remarkable moment, the experience was tinged with sadness and the reality that the spot where we sat along the island's coast--a place which has withstood colonization and disaster for centuries--may soon be lost forever under rising seas.
I wanted to capture that moment, its beauty along with its gravity, in this piece. On one hand, I wanted to reflect on the loss humans have already and will continue to endure from climate change -- both the colonizers and the colonized. On the other hand, I wanted to hold out hope that climate change may be the catalyzing event that allows humans to turn towards one another as allies.
I chose to use indigo coloring both for its literal representation of rising seas and because of its historical use in times of mourning. I decided to weave the image in black and white and over-dye it in natural indigo instead of weaving a color gradient. I wanted to let go of being able to control each pick as a way to mimic and pay reverence to the changing climate at the heart of the piece. We now live in an era where much of the damage humans have caused to our natural systems is irreversible, and so we must brace for the consequences in our laboriously built communities. I wanted to relinquish control to the indigo vat and face the impact of the dye on what I had so carefully constructed. The stark contrast between black and white, which became muddled in the over-dyed area, reinforces the hopeful aspect of the piece focused on the cat and the starling. When washed in blue, the separation between the forms of the two seemingly natural enemies fades under their shared fate.
About the artist
I am a young adult weaver living in Nipmuc and Pocumtuc lands in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA. I find my greatest awareness comes when sitting at the loom - whether weaving yardage, functional items or intricate tapestries. Weaving is inherently slow and working with fiber offers a big contradiction to the urgency of capitalism. My big dream is to weave pieces whose every origin can be traced back to the greater Connecticut River watershed and are created with care to the natural world - from the fiber processing, to the dyeing and actual weaving. These aspirations have led me to explore spinning and natural, native dyes, and what it looks like to procure natural materials in a respectful way. I still have a long way to go, but am loving the learning process every step of the way.
https://www.instagram.com/mary.m.jones12/
