Her Words

“Once you have the information, the question becomes what do you do with it?” - Laura Bates (author)

I embroidered my first quote on a swatch of powder-pink linen at the height of the #METOO movement after the highly respected doctor of psychology, Christine Blasey Ford, testified before the American Senate Judiciary about her sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh who now sits on the US Supreme Court for life. Dr. Blasey Ford was not given the justice she deserves for her bravery. Nor was she truly heard. But she, like me, and one in every four women will never forget the violation our perpetrators enjoyed.

One hundred and fifty embroidered voices and four years later, my She Thread Project is a room sized-hand stitched-installation of women’s words and a collective stance against inequality, violence and injustice.

Web_Viewing Pleasure_Oil, Cold Wax and Embroidery Floss on Vintage Photograph mounted on Panel_8x10 inches_2019.jpg

RBG_Acrylic, Embroidery Floss, Machine Sewing and Crochetted Lace on Paper_8x10 inches_framed.jpg

DeborahBakos_She Thread Project Installation 1.jpg

#ibelieveher

Informed consent is a key theme of this installation. Emerging from my effort to help subvert currently held beliefs about body autonomy and freedom from fear is my dedication, through my artwork, to hearing, repeating and sharing what women have to say about our current status. My hand-stitched project is text based. Each individual embroidered or embellished piece contains words spoken or written by women about their lived experiences. These expressions are sourced from a wide variety of media including personal conversations, anonymous notes, Instagram posts, podcasts, speeches, literature, song lyrics, tweets and feminist theory.

I chose embroidery and textiles because these materials are part of my Mennonite cultural heritage and because stitching while sharing experiences seems a soft and meditative way to record insightful and necessary contributions made by women. This on-going project, now in its fifth year since my first stitch, is meant to subvert tradition and reclaim art practices.

Call for Participants

At the 2019 Annual East Side Culture Crawl in Vancouver Canada, I launched a participatory component to my project, asking for contributions from women who visited the exhibition – words that resonate with them, words spoken, written or sung by other women. I wanted to know how they were feeling about their own status as women in the current climate.