2009
computerized machine embroidery on remnant cosmetic facial peel
8 H × 8 W in (20.32 H × 20.32 W cm)
Handkerchief (Anatomy of Tears) is embellished with a design based on the anatomy of a human tear duct. Lacrimal and naso-lacrimal glands and ducts appear as a decorative motif on the handkerchief constructed out of water-soluble facial peel.
Handkerchief (Anatomy of Tears) is embellished with a design based on the anatomy of a human tear duct. Lacrimal and naso-lacrimal glands and ducts appear as a decorative motif on the handkerchief constructed out of water-soluble facial peel.
...Laura Splan disturbs our notions of beauty and femininity by crafting traditionally feminine objects out of unpredictable materials. By using the body as material for textile-based craft, historically thought of as women’s work, Splan shifts the conversation about her work in a way that hearkens back to Miriam Schapiro’s femmage pieces. But in its nearly painful intimacy with the body, Splan’s work has a fresh and universal application: all viewers have their own bodies to contemplate...
Commissioned for “Re/Formations” exhibition at Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College