Dumbbell

Hand dyed muslin, hand dyed felt, 60” x 36” x 24”

We’ve done much in-class research about the gendered notions of fiber as a material and the delineation between “art” and “craft” because of it. With the prompt of a soft sculpture of a domestic object, I chose to find an in-between space, making a hard metal dumbbell from soft fabric. With this piece, I first make a statement about the rigidity of toxic masculinity, then by having the metal melt into felt, the material is prepared to be reforged, into something with the same base composition of identity but a different more suitable form.