Your Daughter is in Good Hands
Completed between 2013 and 2017, this installation explores the complexities of living as an adoptee amid struggles of privacy legislation, rejection, loss, and identity formation.
The Adoption Council of Canada states that approximately one in five Canadians are touched by adoption. They are either adopted themselves, have an adopted sibling or family member, are adoptive parents, birth parents or birth relatives. Today that means almost seven million Canadians are affected by adoption, and yet adoption remains one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized social phenomenon in our country.
At a foundational level, these pieces represent the shattered bond between mother and child at birth. The finely crafted embroidery serves to highlight the complexity of relationships and experiences of adoptees and birth mothers whose decisions to relinquish were fueled by strongly held societal and religious beliefs of a bygone era.
This collection as a whole provides a moving perspective to a life transformed by adoption and privacy legislation. From a personal standpoint, this body of work defines who I am in this world while also helping me accept, without judgement, the path that brought me here.
The Adoption Council of Canada states that approximately one in five Canadians are touched by adoption. They are either adopted themselves, have an adopted sibling or family member, are adoptive parents, birth parents or birth relatives. Today that means almost seven million Canadians are affected by adoption, and yet adoption remains one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized social phenomenon in our country.
At a foundational level, these pieces represent the shattered bond between mother and child at birth. The finely crafted embroidery serves to highlight the complexity of relationships and experiences of adoptees and birth mothers whose decisions to relinquish were fueled by strongly held societal and religious beliefs of a bygone era.
This collection as a whole provides a moving perspective to a life transformed by adoption and privacy legislation. From a personal standpoint, this body of work defines who I am in this world while also helping me accept, without judgement, the path that brought me here.
