Virginia Mahoney
Inequity, 2021
remnant fabric, copper, food net, thread 45 x 33 x 7 inches
This work emphasizes the contrasts of inequity. The gauzy transparency of the body area underscores the flimsiness of the ruse supporting inequitable practices. The red/green opposing color palette accentuates the disparity of lives caught in the web of inequity versus those unaffected or unconcerned. The metal spikes that curve back to the structure affirm that inequity is a recurring practice of harm.
Virginia Mahoney
Privilege, 2021
reclaimed fabric, copper, food net, thread 60 x 33 x 10 inches
The excess and power of privilege is something many do not like to acknowledge. The exaggerated head with its sparkles, fancy texture and gold color looms off the wall, looking down at the viewer. Some pretend that privilege doesn’t exist, or that it doesn’t affect the lives of those who do not have such advantages. But privilege creates barriers – physically, emotionally, mentally, and motivationally. Its effects are far-reaching.
Virginia Mahoney
Silence is Complicity, 2021
reclaimed fabric, vegetable net, thread, copper 41x20x8 inches
The fifth in this series of shield-like forms, all of which have opaquely covered facial areas and translucent body areas, this one screamed out silence. And silence in the face of ills in our world is complicity in their effects, both past and present. Its predominantly white coloration and blood-red embroidered words speak about oppression and exclusion.
Virginia Mahoney
Shield, 2021
reclaimed fabric, vegetable net, thread, copper 30x26x4 inches
The images from the demonstrations in the spring and summer of 2020 showed many types of protective gear used by both demonstrators and law enforcement. I wondered if these shields created more division, and worried that the incessantly-broadcasted images were not necessarily a good thing. At that point, we were all protecting ourselves with masks, staying inside, and putting up barriers, both physical and psychological. It’s hard to know what the affect of that isolation will be on us in the future.
Virginia Mahoney
Social Distance Soliloquy, 2021
reclaimed fabric, vegetable net, thread, copper 36x18x8 inches
Being isolated has caused many of us to talk out loud to ourselves more freely than we may have been doing before the shut-down. Whether it is aloud or within, the constant self-conversation goes on, especially when we’re alone and isolated from the world, and sometimes it’s not pretty.
Virginia Mahoney
Blinders, 2021
reclaimed fabric, vegetable net, thread, copper 36x24x15 inches
For far too long, we have hidden behind blinders constructed of a “normal life.” The pretty colors and patterns of that nice life have blinded us to others’ cold, harsh realities. We hid behind our beliefs that talking and acting a certain way now would absolve us of the terrors of history. The façade is cracking, and our secret is out. We must remove the blinders and act.
Virginia Mahoney
Muffle, 2020
reclaimed fabric, vegetable net, thread, copper 32x22x14 inches
When everything shut down and we all donned our masks, everyone was muffled. It was hard to understand others when they talked, if one was fortunate enough to even be around others. Even the reporters were muffled. The cries for justice were no longer muffled as demonstrators took to the streets… but even they weren’t loud enough for true justice to occur. They are still muffled to some ears.
Virginia Mahoney
Window Dressing, 2020
Steel, copper, reclaimed fabric, thread 17x12x7 inches
Women often groom themselves according to societal expectations rather than their own. Hiding behind that façade, do we lose ourselves in the construct we build, or are we deliberately or comfortably concealing our true selves behind that front? Are we the construct? Is the construct us?
Virginia Mahoney
Armor, 2020
Steel, copper, reclaimed fabric, vegetable net, thread 12x12x7 inches
Power suit. Dress for Success. This is all fakery and pretend.
Virginia Mahoney
People Pleaser, 2020
Steel, reclaimed fabric, thread 13x10x8 inches
For some, their own feeling of self worth hinges on their ability to make others happy. I often find myself in that group.
