Continental Drift, 2009

clothing labels, embroidery floss on organza,
8.5’ x 19’

Ephemeral landmasses represent a snapshot of the post-industrial textile landscape in our closets. One very specific collection of clothing labels donated by visitors to SubRosa’s installation at The Interventionists exhibition at MASS MOCA in Western Massachusetts is reconfigured in Continental Drift revealing geography shaped by politics, resources, fashion, and quotas. The size of each country is determined by the exact number of labels collected (and sent to me) during the run of the show at MASS MOCA. The map’s magnetic pole, latitudes, and longitudes emanate from the northeastern United States where they were collected.

See video clip to the right.

Articles:

“Interplay puts many parts in play”, Post-Gazette, July 7, 2010

“Beyond the best: 2010’s top 10 list not big enough to hold art critic’s favorites”, Post-Gazette, January 5, 2011

“Interplay puts many parts in play”, Post-Gazette, July 7, 2010
“Exceptional is Wendy Osher’s astute, politically charged “Continental Drift,” a 19-by 9-foot fiber work made of labels snipped from clothing. These she composed into a global map, placing each in a position that approximates the location of its country of origin, to “represent a snapshot of the post-industrial textile landscape in our closets,” she writes in her artist statement.– Mary Thomas