“Things Left Behind” (2016). Courtesy Erin M. Riley and P.P.O.W.
With the election of Donald Trump, a powerful unravelling began – not just of the morals and ethics of the US government but of the tightly laced silence around sexual assault. For American textile artist Erin M. Riley, the election cycle was “a bizarre turning point,” sparking conversations with her mother and sisters about horrific encounters that they had kept secret from one another.
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“It’s been a lot of sobbing,” Riley says with the calm and steady voice of a woman who has faced her demons and lived to tell the tale. “I’ve been through a lot of reflection about my experiences as well as other people: parents, siblings, family members, or in the media. I wanted to talk about how relationships start and evolve, along with the traumatic experiences that exist all at once. There’s no either/or. You can be turned on one day and then afraid the next.”
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Reflecting on the multiplicity of experiences that inform identity, Riley took to the loom to weave meticulously crafted tapestries, detailing intimate scenes of womanhood in her new exhibition, Used Tape, at P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York (May 31 – June 30, 2018). Here, the artist presents a series of work that taps into memory, fantasy, masturbation, dating, self-care, food, pop culture, sexual assault, and domestic violence, to reclaim her power while simultaneously negotiating the impact of trauma with sensitivity and respect.
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“Violation” (2017). Courtesy Erin M. Riley and P.P.O.W.