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.