Philadelphia, PN
What to do with all of the stuff panic-bought during the pandemic? Toilet paper was obvious, but Jessica Eldredge purchased rolls and rolls of cotton gauze. When it proved thankfully unneeded, she dyed it brilliant shades of yellow, ochre, pink, blue and turquoise, and used the resulting materials to create two distinct artworks. Installed outdoors last May at the Tephra ICA Arts Festival, “Infinite Prayer” flew hundreds of pieces of gauze from dark blue metal cages, similar to those used in gardens, for a festive, memorial effect akin to that achieved by Tibetan prayer flags and papel picado, the colorful cut-paper banners hung on Dia de los Muertos. “Mirror in Mirror” is something of its opposite, a series of prints made by pressing one piece of dyed cloth between two pieces of paper. The resulting images glow with unexpected liveliness, each a bright ghost, tenderly and precisely portrayed.
—Lori Waxman 10/13/2023 4:28 PM