Judy Duggan-McCormack
The Presence of Absence

January 7 - March 19, 2022
Opening Reception January 7, 5-8 PM

Memory, grief, and longing are often fragmented and spatially dispersed, thus creating an opportunity for things to be simultaneously present and absent.

Those who suffer a complicated grief often lose rich and detailed memories and are unable to articulate what the absence feels like. An unfamiliar feeling that was inaccessible before a loss is now predicated by the void.

Since death is the event that we as a species have had the most practice with, it would seem that we should have settled on a set of best practices. Such is not the case. Race, religion, geography, historical significance, and timeline all play an important role in our mourning.

As time softens the grief and the story bearers are no longer with us, who will remember the impact that this episode in time had on its cast of characters? Will the residual effect be an important part of history or regarded as a strange fad in mourning customs? When is the exact moment in time when this keening absence becomes irrelevant?

While history cannot be altered, it is certainly always up for interpretation. Veneration of those departed is based on the love and respect of those directly involved and then we all become stories. What is present or absent from the story will dictate how it is retold.

Bio

Judy Duggan-McCormack’s work is an amalgamation of contemporary and historical design, executed in a variety of textile forms. She is often drawn to cemeteries for inspiration, as the rich history offers a plethora of ideas and stories to give peoples’ lives a narrative through art long after they are gone. Her knowledge of “time gathering” allows her to probe the results of examining mourning throughout the annals of her own genealogical research.

Duggan-McCormack is a lifelong learner of textile arts. Experimentation in a mixed media approach has revealed her love of the texture, diversity, and colour of textiles that are highlighted by unique additions and manipulations. Using age-old techniques with modern materials she aspires to keep textiles relevant as an art form.

Duggan-McCormack lives and works in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.