Vi Houssin

Principle of Correspondence, 2023-2024. Seed beads, nylon thread, needles, pigskin split hide. 12 x 12 inches.

Originally an artistic response to Monique Fillion’s exhibition “Embedded” for Martha Street Studio in the summer of 2023, expanded for Reverberations: 40 Years of MAWA’s Foundation Mentorship Program, a group exhibition at Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA) in Winnipeg in September 2024.

Beadwork always finds a way to humble me. This piece grew from some thoughts about spirit living on beyond death, and as I was assembling it, they found ways to show me that spirit. The needles pricked my fingers and drew blood as I pushed them into the backing; when the frame scrapes against a surface, the needles make the most beautiful chirping noise. Even when using the hide of a long-passed animal, and making images of living creatures from materials that can’t die, they still found a way to bite and sing.