Jennifer Thoreson, Multidisciplinary Artist

The premier exhibition of Testament took place in the house in which the photographs were created.  The house was cleaned, polished, and freshly painted.  Holes and scars were patched and mended, and the house was shown at it’s very best.  This was a picture of redemption and restoration, a theme that is at the root of my work.  The exhibition included 12 photographs paired with sculptures, installations, and textile works. Each object or textile borrows Biblical language and symbolism, and references specific moments of understanding and awareness in my personal spiritual journey.

If you look carefully, you will see each stage of a sheep’s wool, and its evolution from the animal’s fleece to finished woven cloth.  Wool is shorn, picked, washed, carded, spun into yarn, dyed, and finally woven into a functional woven or felted textile.  Many of the materials used to make sculptures for the photographs were re-used and re-purposed to create new objects for the exhibition, illustrating themes of renewal and rebirth.