ARTIST STATEMENT
I use embroidery as an embodied practice to explore my experience with chronic illness and confront internalized ableism. It provides me a way of staying with my body and mind, rather than pushing them away from each other. A hallmark of chronic illness is seeing many doctors who give many diagnoses but still may not fully understand what’s going on with your body. Conditional tries to evoke what it’s like to try to make sense of things that don’t make sense. To create the imagery in the book, I took all the diagnosis codes listed under the “my conditions” section of my Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and scrambled them to create new patterns, which I slowly embroidered on the pages. My intention is for viewers to “read” the book and try to find patterns and make guesses as to what the numbers mean, but not be sure their interpretation is correct. This gets at what it can feel like to try to keep track and make meaning of things that never seem to have enough clarity when dealing with chronic health conditions.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Working predominantly in embroidery, quilting, and drawing, Somerville-based artist and art therapist Lauren Leone explores themes of identity, connection, and communication. Leone’s work portrays the complexity of emotionally charged situations and the relationship between the internal/private and the external/public. She often chooses to work in embroidery because the slow process of stitching allows her time to reflect and process difficult emotions and provides a sense of control and intimacy. Leone facilitates collaborative community-based art projects, in which she specifically employs textiles practices such quilting because of their long history as activities that bring individuals together to share stories, address community issues, and even serve as a form of activism. She has been an art therapy educator for over a decade and her research investigates the unique therapeutic benefits of craft materials and media, socially engaged craft practices, and how craft activism can support art therapy practitioners and participants in being change agents. Leone has exhibited art nationally, received multiple grants for individual and community work from the Massachusetts Cultural Council/Somerville Arts Council LCC, and is the editor of Craft in Art Therapy: Diverse Approaches to the Transformative Power of Craft Materials and Methods.
© Lauren Leone