David R. Harper | Textile Museum of Canada Collection and Exhibitions
Apr 9, 2010 - Sep 6, 2010
David R. Harper (Halifax/Chicago) embroiders portraits of people on animal skins, playing on one of the traditional roles of portraiture which was to immortalize and elevate the subject through artistic representation – just as the trophy from a hunting excursion might be a bear skin rug or a rack of antlers. These images of anonymous, Victorian-era men and women imply an emotional distance that allows the artist to poke at the slippery slope where nature and culture meet.
