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Telling a story is a translation of materials; it is a selection of information that is salient to you. This idea has led me to consider how the present rearranges the past, conveying the interaction between presence and absence, and history and memory through this site-sensitive installation.
I hope you are both well, is inspired by two books, Bluenose Ghosts by folklore author Helen Creighton and The Key to Weaving by Mary E. Black. Both of these books were gifted to me by mentors before I set out to move across Canada. Arriving in a new city I craved companionship; I found this companionship in both Helen and Mary, in folklore and in craft. Both authors were influencers of their time, shaping our collective memory of Nova Scotia’s past through the collection of stories, pedagogy and advocacy. I saw a connection between Mary and Helen, and I feel a familiarity with both. In this installation I’ve collaborated with their literature to create an exhibition that entangles the three of us together.
Fraser uses textiles to consider how the present rearranges the past in their installation I Hope You are Both Well. Using weaving as a process, a practice and a way of thinking Fraser negotiates presence and absence, history and memory in their exhibition. Before moving to Halifax Fraser was gifted two books by local Halifax authors Helen Creighton and Mary E. Black. Fraser felt a sense of companionship towards the women through the literature and craft they left behind and she remediated the collected fragments in a exhibition that entangles the three women together.
I gratefully acknowledge the support of both the Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Nova Scotia in the creation and installation of this body of work.
Photography by Marvin Moore