Recently, Terry has created shroud-like, amorphous masks by
patch-working used socks. A progression from previous work
with gloves, Terry is interested in how textiles are imprinted by
bodies through use, something tailors refer to as “fabric mem-
ory.” The artist initially created “skins” with the used socks,
which she then molded into masks—“monstrous yet empathet-
ic” things, which, according to Terry, dramatically alter the
wearer’s posture, forcing her shoulders into a forward s lump,
her entire body to slouch. According to Terry, “While the work
wasn’t intentionally political at fi rst, it’s diffi cult to deny the ref-
erences to hooded prisoners and the othering/dehumanizing
that happens in war.”
After the election in November, Terry brought her bodily ac-
tivations out of the studio and into an overtly political arena,
participating in weekly protests and sit-ins aimed at Philadel-
phia senator Pat Toomey’s blind eye to his constituents’ out-
rage at Donald Trump. Terry was arrested and charged with
a civil citation in February of this year during a peaceful sit-in
at Toomey’s Philadelphia offi ce. In this instance, the imprint
of her body is left in the form of a record in a catalogue of
offenses, a site of resistance stretching the warp and weft of
how we are restricted from intentionally inserting our bodies
into political spaces.
You can see more at:
KayteTerry.com
Self Portrait 1, mixed media
Orlando Arts & Culture, v. 2.4
Poked Pinned 8, mixed media
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