Mary Little

unearth Series

2020

Unearth is a series made in isolation, though it was always intended for public viewing. During the year spent indoors, my daily practice included reflecting on series-past and exploring my techniques and reliefs for a sense of surprise and feelings of familiarity. This ritual became a process, and the foundation for a new series: Unearth.

Repetition and meditation were one-and-one in Unearth, where strips of canvas were cut and sewn in repetitive patterns of energetic reliefs. Time slipped, the studio became my world and what emerged were future artifacts of a moment in focus. Forms come to life. Just like how we emerged.

I remember my great-uncle Hugh at the age of 88 digging holes in the earth by hand and filling them with manure then planting leeks. At this stage in his life, he was blind, so did all this by feel. He had the confidence and experience to know that after planting, something magical would happen, and that in good time, that magic would be unearthed and enjoyed. That is this series for me.