Miriam McConnon’s new series of work has been informed by her correspondence with families in Gaza over the last two years.
The work is focused on locating the soft space within domestic life in a time of war. A space that is resilient and counteracts the hardness of the conflict beyond its fabric walls. The artist examines the dichotic co-existence of these two opposing realities in her paintings. In her paintings she depicts temporary shelters that strive to remain a home. She elevates the last remaining domestic objects that these families in Gaza possess, to priceless commodities. Each domestic scene is adorned in patterns from the families’ personal possessions allowing their presence to be felt in the work.
Two garments of children’s clothing hang in the bay windows of the gallery. The small jackets are made from medical gauze, a fabric which originated in Gaza, hence its name. This fragile fabric gains its strength as a medical bandage for the wounded. These ‘Baby Armours’ are a homage to the tens of thousands of children who have been killed in the genocide in Gaza.
Miriam also references the archeological documentation of war in her series of ancient Pots which carry images of displaced Palestinian families. History is more often narrated through a series of battles, won and lost. Miriam McConnon’s work aims to document and to archive for future generations, the overlooked side of this war, the survival of the domestic living space and its function as a gate keeper of everyday security.
This exhibition recognizes the unassuming power of the domestic space to facilitate security and dignity in a time of famine and genocide.
