For my graduating BFA show I created a series of five weaves with accompanying . Each one represents a disease on the physical, emotional, and biological level. I wanted to create something that when looking at it the viewer would immediately get a sense of what it is like living with that particular disease.
This first weave represents ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. This is a mental disease that affects the way an individual processes information. Their brain cannot focus on just one stimuli input, this can affect attention, concentration, memory, motivation, impulsivity, hyperactivity, social and organizational skills.
This second weave represents Alzheimer's. Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disorder that irreversibly destroys memory, reasoning, cognitive skills, and one’s ability to complete simple everyday tasks.
This weave represents Celiac disease. When people with this disease eat gluten their body attacks the lining of the small intestines that absorbs nutrients. Over time the finger-like protrusions called the villi that line the small intestine are destroyed preventing the body from absorbing the nutrition that it needs to survive.
The fourth weave represents depression. Depression is not merely feeling sad, it affects how a person thinks, feels, and his/her ability to complete day to day activities. It can last for weeks up to years at a time, sometimes feeling like no end is in sight. It can change a person’s entire attitude and cause him/her to lose interest in activities they once enjoyed.
This last weave represents starvation, in both the sense of diseases like anorexia as well as poverty-related hunger. Early symptoms can include, irritability, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. This can turn into substantial weight loss and atrophy of muscles and other tissue. A person suffering from starvation will become too weak to move or eat. With their weakened body, disease easily sets in. Nutrient deficiency leads to anemia, beriberi, scurvy, pellagra, diarrhea, rashes, and heart failure.
