Kathy Halper

Bikini Season
hand embroidery on linen
26 x 29 in.

My series titled “Friend Me” explores social media and how it has changed the way we communicate and perceive issues of privacy. Our youth have been the engine of this change, so I let them be the narrators through their own images and words.

Images found on Facebook and texts sourced from various online sites are hand embroidered to create a visual dichotomy between old and new, home and independence, the present generation conflicting with the past.

The series began when I came upon the wealth of information posted on Facebook by my kids and their peers. I felt this was an area ripe for discussion and I began to “document” this “documentation” thru the old school hand of embroidery. Using this domestic craft creates a visual and visceral disconnect between old and new, parent and child. And yet with the current re-emergence of fiber art as “hip”, it reinforces the “nowness” of the work.

The intent of “Friend Me” is to create discussion about this new communication form and how it affects privacy, relationships, our youth and society as a whole. Knowing the technology is here to stay, where will it take us in the future?

© Kathy Halper