The Process
1
I approach Cambodia from as many different perspectives as I can, cultural, art historical, sociological and archological. I worked on two Earthwatch archeological digs that probed the Origins of Angkor. The shell bangles are evidence of the emergence of social heirarchies and extensive trade networks. The layers of meaning in archeology, and in cultural studies, are facinating to me.
2
With a concept in mind, I select one or more digital photographs of apsara carving from the many I have taken at Angkor Wat and other Khmer sites.
3
My next step is to manipulate the digital image to best express my concept. I crop, colorize, posterize and otherwise adjust the image.
4
I then print the digital image and piece it with reproduction fabric or contemporary hand-woven textiles purchased in Cambodia.5
Once the piece is assembled, I sew over the surface and add buttons, beads and other embellishments that have meaning. In this instance, I used woven bangles that I bought from a child at the temple of Angkor Wat because their shapes reminded me of the bracelets on the bronze age skeletons we excavated on the dig.6
This is the completed piece. The textile hangers are wildely used in Southeast Asia to hang a household's most precious textiles.