CREDIBLE, IDIOT STRINGS

Printed cotton fabric, nylon thread, wool, steel wire, monofilament, 2022. From the collection of Christopher Scott and Cody Fitzsimmons.

This series originated as a memorial to the loss of three uncles who tragically took their own lives, men who suffered from the experience of boarding school, the Vietnam War, and abuse of the clergy. This works draws attention to the staggeringly elevated rates of suicide amongst Alaska Native and Native American peoples. Alaska Natives are three times more likely to take their life than the rest of the nation. In both material and form, these pouches and ties evoke the body and suggest its absence. Casting overlapping shadows through line and movement demonstrate that one loss touches many. Since I began this series in 2005 I have made six sets of Idiot Strings and countless two-dimensional works addressing suicide. My continuation of this series has evolved to encompass not only personal tragedy but also a wider sense of collective loss, today more poignant than ever.