Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Towards an ominous time I

Preview image of work. handwoven cloth, natural and synthetic fiber, Towards an ominous time I 45253

2022.44

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Towards an ominous time I

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Artist

Sarah Zapata

Title

Towards an ominous time I

Creation Date

2022

Century

21st century

Dimensions

144 x 15 x 15 in. (365.76 x 38.1 x 38.1 cm)

Classification

Sculpture

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

handwoven cloth, natural and synthetic fiber

Credit Line

Museum Purchase, Laura T. and John H. Halford, Jr. Art Acquisition Fund and the Collector's Collaborative

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2022.44

In Towards an ominous time I, Sarah Zapata juxtaposes labor-intensive techniques of handweaving and latch-hooking with methods of industrialized carpet manufacture to explore gender and labor. This sculpture comprises two textile panels enveloping a columnar substructure. The handwoven elements appear both as flat panels and protruding, three-dimensional shapes that emerge from fluffy latch-hooked patches. As a fiber artist, Zapata engages in a history that positions textile production as “women’s work.” She deliberately uses bright colors, soft textures, and organic forms to create objects that she considers feminine and that bear evidence of their hand-made nature. Yet she also subverts expectations of what a textile is, challenging the patriarchal political systems that have sought to oppress and constrain women, especially Queer women of color. Zapata’s work is, in essence, a celebration of the intersectionality of identity and existence.