Acts of Resilience (2019)

Acts of Resilience, 2019

“How do we connect with place each time we move city or country?” Acts of Resilience was an instruction to myself to cultivate a feeling of control. It consisted of two sets of repetitive acts, act I: step outside into the woods, choose a stick/a fallen twig, saw off the ends to flatten them, bring the stick into the so-called studio (a second bedroom in a mobile home), and wrap it in colourful and bold yarn; act II: sit down and stitch for 2 hours each day without a plan, stitch on one piece of fabric for a month, then start a new panel for the next month. Repeat act I and II everyday if possible. These actions represent an attempt in resilience while living for one year in Cape Breton, NS. A year later, when I moved back to Vancouver, the habits persisted as I re-imagined life in the city. Life is made up of the everyday, within which the simplest acts can enable us to hold it together through change and uncertainty.