Silvana Soriano. No Peace, No Pussy, 2024. Embroidery on fabric and ribbon. 12 x 24 inches. Available via Artsy. All and One, 2024. Embroidery on fabric. 12 x 24 inches. Available via Artsy.
Why is fiber your medium of choice?
Silvana Soriano: I am finding new ways to explore the feminine universe in fabrics and embroidery. It is a generous medium that allows you to redo, change routes and is easy to take wherever you want.
Julie Peppito: I want to rescue the excessive waste from the fast fashion industry by reusing it in my work. Much of my work is about repair and there is a rich history of women repairing fabric. Also, it is lightweight and easy to integrate with other materials enabling me to merge objects and images seamlessly. By sewing into painted canvas and incorporating it with reused fiber I feel like I am subverting a century old hierarchy that has placed painted canvas at the top and all other fiber that has to do with craft or women's work at the bottom.
Rosa Herniquez: I find it so therapeutic to work with the flexibility of fabrics and threads, it is one of my favorite mediums to create art.
Toni Thomas: I am a painter but I like working with fabric, textiles, yarn, thread, and sewing and quilting. I compose with the fabric the same way I create with paint. I like infusing the two when I can with mixed media works, but my fiber art has taken a direction of its own which I embrace.
“ The idea of connecting peace and pussy made me think a lot about the fact that women's role in society has always been in this attempt to avoid conflict and to be included. ”
— Silvana Soriano
What was your introduction to fiber art?
SS: During the pandemic I looked for alternative material and as I was present at the birth of FAMA, I ended up diving into this universe.
JP: On a road trip from Oklahoma to New Mexico when I was seven my mom gave me and my two sisters a bag of fabric scraps, old buttons and thread to play with. I was hooked.
RH: Embroidery, crochet and paper mâché were part of my 3rd grade curriculum in catholic school.
TT: My introduction to fiber art was in the 1990s when I saw the story quilts by Faith Ringgold at a quilt exhibit at the Newark Museum. After that I did a residency at the Newark Museum and a co-resident at the residency was a quilter. That's when I learned about free motion quilting and a bunch of other new practices in quilting. I liked what I saw and began incorporating those ideas into my art practice. Later a friend introduced me to Japanese stitching techniques like Sashiko and chiku, chicku. I began researching different stitching practices and discovered a whole new world of creative possibilities using things I loved interacting with like fabric and textiles.
Who inspires you?
SS: Aurora Molina, Kiki Smith and my grandmother
JP: Oy, this is such a hard question. Everyone and everything from The Unicorn Tapestries, Hieronymus Bosch, Medieval Art, Impressionism, Latin American and Asian Folk Art, Modern Art, Stuart Davis, Niki De Saint Phalle, my husband Gideon Kendall, Joyce Scott, so many more that I can't think of right now
RH: My mother. She always painted watercolors, did needle work, embroidery, crochet and still plays the piano.
TT: The inspiration for my fiber art began with quilts. There was a quilt exhibit at the Newark Museum and I went to see the show and was introduced to the painted quilts of Faith Ringgold. That was in the 1990s. After that I sought out the work of Faith Ringgold and started researching the history of African American quilters and quilting traditions. There were very few books or resources available at that time. This was important to me because I wanted affirmation that my people were acknowledged as part of the quilting tradition. Both my mother and grandmother made quilts and we used them in our home growing up. I knew during slavery that the slaves stitched the quilts that would be attributed to their white owners. Why was that tradition not mentioned or discussed? It wasn't until later that more books were written and exhibits that acknowledged the African American contribution to the American practice of quilting. I discovered the work of Harriet Powers and works by artists like Emma Amos, and later in the 2000s the work of the Gees Bend Quilters.
“ By sewing into painted canvas and incorporating it with reused fiber I feel like I am subverting a century old hierarchy that has placed painted canvas at the top and all other fiber that has to do with craft or women's work at the bottom. ”
— Julie Peppito
What was your reaction to this year’s call for submissions? Can you elaborate on why?
SS: I found it bold and funny and blunt. The idea of connecting peace and pussy made me think a lot about the fact that women's role in society has always been in this attempt to avoid conflict and to be included. The act of taking the lead in this power and bargaining for peace with men says a lot about us. Who really has the power?
JP: A show about women's power in an election year when a misogynist lech could take over the country sounded like an excellent idea.
RH: The title "We Got the Power" got my attention, and honestly, I never read or saw Lysistrata or Chiraq, but once I started doing research about it and found out that there have been sex strikes in countries like Colombia, Italy, Philippines and South Sudan among others, these different instances inspired me to create the first of my two pieces.
TT: A friend saw the call and she knew I had been doing more fiber artwork and she shared the call for submissions with me. I just made the deadline. I was intrigued with the challenge of representing an aspect of the story of Lysistrata. I had watched Spike Lee's take on the Greek story before and I have to admit I had some trouble following the plot. I saw the call as an opportunity to challenge myself artistically and I decided to take it on
Tell us about your piece for We Got the Power, and what it means to you.
JP: When I was thinking about strong powerful women while watching Spike Lee's film, a vision of Lizzo came to me. Lizzo is standing in a "power pose", a strand of her hair turns into the vine that peace doves use to lasso an army of smiling penises, thereby disabling their other stereotypical tendency towards war. I actually have a lot of empathy for men, they are so beholden to the will of their other brain. I wanted to somehow give a nod to my empathy by making the penises sympathetic characters.
RH: "Sisterhood: The Strength of Unity" women stand together in solidarity, with her legs crossed, boycotting intimacy, symbolizing the power they wield when united. "The Plea for Intimacy” captures the tension of obvious erections, begging for intimacy.
To me, these pieces represent themes of conflict and reconciliation, issues of violence, inequality, exploring gender, power, and the quest for peace. The artwork celebrates the transformative potential of women coming together to effect change.
TT: My work for the show is a narrative piece that illustrates a scene from play where the old men confront the old women with torches of fire, and the old women overpower the men with buckets of water. In my work, the women are aided by the Yoruban god Yemaya. You see the large hand of Yemaya hurling water over the men with their flames of fire. I wanted to infuse a cultural reference not directly associated with the story but definitely related to the theme of empowerment and taking action. In this case, Yemaya comes to the aid of the women. Yemaya is the Yoruba god that resides over large bodies of water. Her assistance ensures that the women will be successful in overcoming their male adversaries. I applied my skill with various stitching techniques like the Japanese big stitch called "chiku, chiku" and using Kantha cloth to create a work that would be visually appealing and well constructed.
“ We have the ability to take care and balance work and family, run countries and cities, build economies and at the end of the day, empowered women do change the world. ”
— Rosa Herniquez
What does your piece respond to, both in the context of the play and in society?
JP: I think I answered that in the previous question.
RH: My pieces responds to The Divided Chorus of Old Men Vs Old Women. It reveals a dependency of men and women in the domestic, political and societal discourse.
TT: The work I created for the show responds to the part in the play where the women confront the attack of the men. The men confront the women with torches of fire and the women hurl buckets of water at the men. In my piece, I use symbolic references to the men and the fire they bring and use a symbolic representation of the Yoruban god Yemaya as coming to the aid of the women by hurling water over the men. I have always held the belief that women are more powerful than they give themselves credit for and that there needs to be a mind shift in all aspects of life, spiritual belief, and social interaction whereby women recognize their power and assume more control in all aspects of our existence exclusive of the patriarchal gaze.
Toni Thomas. Yemaya Comes to the Aid of Lysistrata, 2024. Acrylic paint, Kantha fabric, Noro cotton, silk yarn, "Chiku, chiku" stitching , cowrie shells with a fabric border. Hanging sleeve on back. 12 x 24 inches. Available via Artsy.
How do you hope viewers will respond to your piece?
JP: With joy, escape and inspiration to donate to, work for and vote for Kamala Harris and progressive women candidates. And, I want women to feel powerful and men to recognize the power of women.
RH: I hope the viewer is able to contemplate the theme of conflict and reconciliation. I also want to portray the comical and fragility of the satire.
TT: I hope viewers will enjoy the overall composition of my work. I want it to have a visual appeal. If it piques the curiosity of the viewers, then I hope they will research some of the elements in the work, particularly the presence of Yemaya, the Yoruba god to represent the women collectively, and my use of Kantha cloth which comes from India and is made from discarded saris.
“ I believe all women are healers and have the power to affect change in the world beyond the restrictive patriarchal role they have been assigned by society.”
— Toni Thomas
Do you believe that women do have the power to effect change? How?
SS: I think they are already doing that. I feel like we are starting to realize how strong we are, maybe because we have suffered for so long, we have a lot of resilience and now we realize the importance of being together as a sisterhood.
JP: Yes. By realizing their worth and not being afraid of their own power. Then taking action in the world in whatever ways they can. In this moment: Knock on doors, text, make calls, donate, and vote for candidates that care about all people and recognize the worth of all people.
RH: Absolutely. We have the ability to take care and balance work and family, run countries and cities, build economies and at the end of the day, empowered women do change the world.
TT: Yes, I do. The majority of my work reflects my interest in the representation of women and the empowerment of women, particularly women of color. My work over the years reflects my belief in the inherent power of women. I believe all women are healers and have the power to affect change in the world beyond the restrictive patriarchal role they have been assigned by society. I view it as a control mechanism that needs to be rebuked. Each sex has a role to play and we are all infused with the same DNA in different doses to play a role here. We need to adopt a more holistic vision of ourselves for the betterment of humanity and our role here on the planet. I think this is happening in small spiritual and environmental communities around the world.
