Catherine Heard

Red Work: The Emperor of Atlantis camouflages embroideries of war, injustice, and resistance in a patchwork of antique redwork embroideries. Patriotic imagery, homey domestic scenes and fairy tale characters are juxtaposed with embroideries of traumatic events. Making this piece, I have been thinking about how history is recorded in the domestic sphere; about patriotism; and about the stories we tell ourselves as we try to make sense of the world in which we live.

Redwork embroidered quilts were popular home craft from the mid-19th century through the early 20th century. As I began collecting redwork for another project, it struck me that some images – particularly those of Indigenous people – read very differently today than they had at the time they were originally embroidered. Originally embroidered as nostalgic imagery commemorating a pioneer narrative, today these stereotyped images are a reminder of the dark history concealed beneath the veneer of patriotic narratives. The disjuncture in past and present readings of these images became the starting point for Red Work: The Emperor of Atlantis.

The project evolved further when, searching for antique fabrics on eBay, I stumbled across red work patterns from WWII that included tanks, fighter planes and guns – bringing the narrative of war directly into the domestic sphere of decorative craft.

Eventually, the project grew to include images from WWI, WW2, The Vietnam War, The War on Terror, Black Lives Matter, and the current war in Ukraine. Guest artists created sets of embroidery patterns that reflect personal histories: Lolita Newman commemorates her ancestral connection to slavery; Ghazal Tahernia documents the Iranian Revolution; Star Nahwegahbo communicates her truth as an Indigenous woman; and Sophia Boyadjian ties the history of the Armenian Genocide to present-day events.

In the summer of 2018, I began inviting people for monthly embroidery bees in my Toronto studio. Over morning coffee and sushi lunches, we sewed and listened to one another’s stories. In January 2020, I moved to Windsor and, a few weeks later, the pandemic struck. I shifted the project online and began sending free embroidery kits to participants by mail. To date, over 200 people have contributed embroidered motifs to the project. You can see their individual contributions and read their words at https://www.emperorofatlantis.com/embroideries-by-participants

Red Work: The Emperor of Atlantis is a perpetually unfinished work. New participants are welcome to request free embroidery kits from www.emperorofatlantis.com. At each exhibition venue, local histories will be marked with the creation of new patterns and community will be invited to participate in embroidery workshops.

The narratives referenced in this piece are sprawling and messy, they bleed into one another and are incomplete in the way that current history is always incomplete. Some of the histories in this piece have been distilled into patriotic symbols; other histories I have referenced remain in flux – open wounds, gnawing questions.

Exhibition Statement by Robert Birch:

Catherine Heard brings forth an enlightening exploration of the complexities of religion and politics in her captivating artwork. Through her though-provoking creations, Heard delves into the underlying themes that shape our understanding of these influential spheres and the profound impact they have on society; unveiling a dialogue that challenges conventions and sparks contemplation.

Combining four bodies of work, two from decades ago and two from her current practice, we are given access to themes of interest throughout the artist’s career. Materiality and craft-historical techniques combine with subject matter to offer a retrospective glance at ongoing themes.

Drawing inspiration from diverse cultural, historical, and philosophical sources, Heard's art serves as a catalyst for dialogue and introspection. Investigating the realms of religion and politics, she elucidates the ways in which these two forces often converge, intertwine, and shape human experiences.

Heard's artwork invites viewers to delve into the intricate tapestry of religious and political ideas; navigating the complexities of belief systems, power dynamics, and social structures. Through vivid imagery, symbolism, and meticulous attention to detail, she unveils the often-unseen threads that connect these influential spheres.

The work evokes a range of emotions and challenges preconceived notions about the relationship between religion and politics. Her thought-provoking creations serve as a mirror reflecting the multifaceted aspects of these domains, encouraging viewers to question their own beliefs and societal paradigms.

Heard's masterful use of various artistic mediums, including drawing, sculpture, and textiles, showcases her versatility and innovative approach to often volatile subjects. Her artistic language bridges the gap between past and present, drawing upon historical iconography while incorporating contemporary elements that resonate with the current socio-political climate.

Through her artwork, the artist initiates a dialogue that encourages open-mindedness, critical thinking, and the exploration of deeply ingrained ideologies. By shedding light on the influence of the subjects, religion and politics, on our lives she invites viewers to reflect upon their own beliefs, values, and the societal structures that shape their lives.

Birch Contemporary

May 25 to June 17, 2023

129 Tecumseh Street, Toronto

Sentinel was created as a site specific work for the NetherMind Collective exhibition, Elegy, at St. Anne’s Anglican Church, Toronto. The exhibition mourns the destruction of the environment by anthropogenic climate change. In this exhibition, artists created meditations on environmental destruction and ecological grief through sculptural, photographic, and video installations.

Artist Statement: Twin sentinels, their bodies amalgams of industry and nature, stand watch. Surrounded by a golden haze, they may be fiery angels or children of the future gazing backward to our time.

Micrographia is a meditation on the history of microscopy, inspired by Robert Hooke’s 1665 text, Micrographia: or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses With Observations and Inquiries Thereupon, and Ernst Haeckel’s 1862 Monograph on Radiolarians.  These scientists engaged with microscopy as a cutting-edge technique of their respective eras, creating intricate drawings of the revelations they observed through the lens.

Heard reflects on Hooke and Haeckel’s preoccupation with “minute bodies” by constructing miniature sculptures of cellular forms using Japanese paper and materials collected in her garden – seeds, roots and stems.  These fibrous materials are treated with an oakgall and iron ink, created from a medieval recipe, which renders them readable by a CT scanner.  The scans are translated using Horos medical imaging software, and transformed into mesmerizing videos of rotating orbs, reminiscent of Haeckel’s exquisite engravings of radiolarians (ancient single-celled organisms with mineral skeletons), which he termed, “the most charming creatures”.

Press: These art galleries provide counterbalance to consumerism, overindulgence during the holiday season, Globe and Mail, December 14, 2018. Kate Taylor

The artist gratefully acknowledges the people and organizations who made the works in this exhibition possible:

Micrographia and Radiolarians was created in partnership with the STTARR Innovation Centre, who generously provided CT scanning for the project.  

Myrllen: A Portrait was produced in partnership with the Art Gallery of Hamilton, St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Dr. Julian Dobranowski, 2016.  

The Summer Institute of OCAD University supported early stage research for Radiolarians.

Special thanks to Dr. Justin Grant, Deborah Scollard, Teesha Komal, Dr. Harley Chan, Dr. Julian Dobranowski, Melissa Bennett, Dr. Martin Bourgeois, Alastair Martin, and studio assistants: Ghazal Tehranian, and Bonnie Tung.

The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council.

"Phantom" consists of a sculpture of a body that is three-quarters life size, juxtaposed with a projected animation. Based on an antique drawing of an anatomical dissection, the body is made from various organic materials including plant stems and leaves, which have been treated with barium to emphasize their details. The projection, situated like a reflected image in front of him, shows the figure’s beating heart, winded lungs and coursing veins. The figure evokes a range of emotions—visitors may be haunted or endeared by his small and fragile frame. That he is composed of organic materials petrified and then brought to life again in the animation, is a sign of Heard’s compulsion to depict the human body as fragile, ephemeral and flawed, but ultimately merciful and full of grace. 
– Text by Melissa Bennett, AGH Curator of Contemporary Art

Video Documentation

Review – Espace, Winter 2017

Review -Sculpture, November 2017

Review – Critical Super Beast

Myrllen: A Portrait (2016) is a laboriously constructed sculpture of a head/brain composed from layers of linen, lace, found embroidery, clay and paper fibre, coated in wax. Images of slices of the brain exist on each of the layers of fabric within, highlighted by varying amounts of Barium, which was painted on each layer. When the fabric head was CT-scanned and the data was read by Osirix software, the layers of fabric appear as animation stills that depict a fly-through view of the brain superimposed by images of falling flowers, flying birds, and other details gleaned from embroidered pillow cases, towels, and quilts. These images suggest momentary thoughts that flicker through the mind. The intensive work of creating the sculpture from hundreds of layers parallels the embroidery of Myrllen, a schizophrenic woman who was admitted to a hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1948.  – Text by Melissa Bennett, AGH Curator of Contemporary Art

Video Documentation

Myrllen's Coat, Essay 

"Self-portrait: 2014–05–01, 10:48 am" is an FMRI scan of the artist’s head, processed using Osirix medical imaging software. The viewer experiences the work, by peering through a 4” circular magnifying lens in a Victorian–style wooden cabinet.

Video Documentation

Red Work – Danse Macabre camouflages embroideries of recent historical events into a curtain made from antique red work quilt motifs.  Patriotic imagery, homey domestic scenes and fairy tale characters are juxtaposed with embroideries based on images from the “war on terror”.  In front of the curtain,  child skeletons ornamented with embroidered flowers dance manically.  

Making this piece, I have been thinking about how history is recorded in the domestic sphere, about patriotism, and the stories we tell ourselves about the world in which we live.  Red work embroidered quilts were popular home craft from the mid-19th century through the early 20th century.  As I began collecting red work quilts, it struck me that some images – particularly those of Indigenous North Americans – read very differently today then they had at the time they were originally embroidered.  They functioned as a reminder of a dark history that had been concealed beneath the veneer of a patriotic narrative. I also stumbled across red work patterns from WWII that included tanks, fighter planes and guns – bringing the narrative of war directly into the domestic sphere of decorative craft.  Finally, I have included images from current history – images that make me anxious and prick my conscience – Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Omar Khadr. 

Votive lll is a series of five sculptures of decapitated heads impaled on spikes.  The wide, staring eyes of the victims cry oily, black tears that pool on the floor beneath them, and trickle out of sight underneath a locked door.

a meditation on the themes of war and destruction throughout history.  The imagery refers simultaneously to the French Revolution, ISIL's terrorism, and the global oil industry.

NetherMind Artists Collective

In Grave the sculptures are built from the inside out, reversing the normal logic of sculptural form. The concealed interior structures become “visually” more critical than the external appearance of the pieces, when the structures are revealed using digital CT scanning technology.

Historical sculptures and paintings incorporating veils frequently depict liminal states –– the virgin bride, the mourning widow, and the ghost. The veil can also take the form of a shroud, as in Giuseppe Sammartino's Veiled Christ (1753), wherein the sensual draping of the form emphasizes the marginal threshold between life and death. While the veiled sculptures I have created are more traditionally beautiful than much of my earlier work, the conflation of the veil with the shroud seems inevitable, and ultimately points toward mortality and the dissolution of the corpse.

Votive ll is a site specific work created for NetherMind's Miribilia exhibition at Toronto's historic St. Anne's Anglican Church.

During the course of the exhibition, wax from the dripping candles gradually obscured the faces of the two sculptures flanking the chancel.

NetherMind Artists Collective

Mixed media (armature, fabric, glass eyes, chewing gum). Each 60” tall.

Hansel and Gretel plays on the symbolic complexity of the original folk tale, recorded by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, and its analysis by child psychologist, Bruno Bettelheim, in his 1976 book, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales.

The site specific installation was created for Queen Specific, playing on the window gallery's juxtaposition to Dufflet Pastries.

Golem, 2018, installation at Play/ground, Medina, New York. Site: Janitor’s closet, boy’s bathroom, in the decommissioned Median High School.

Golem, 2010, installation at Art School Dismissed, Shaw Street Public School, Toronto, 2010

"Catherine Heard did not even sweep the long-forgotten custodian's closet where she installed Golem, the chilling form of a naked, mottled child staring with downcast eyes at the dead bird in her hand. This startling sculptural encounter  represented the conflation of two potent historical images, ubiquitous in Victorian culture: sentimental portraits of a young girl holding a dead bird, and pictures illustrating abberant "spotted" children.  Building on the artist's image in "monstrous bodies," the work provokes a visceral meditation on the uncomfortable and feral aspects of childhood that reveal our animal nature, and on the interplay between nature and culture."

–Excerpt from "Art School Dismissed" catalogue, curatorial text by Heather Nichol.

Mixed media (naturally coloured clay, wool fibre, glass eyes, armature). 51” tall.

Arteries and Veins, after Gérard Lairesse, 1685.

Japanese paper, dye, armature, glass eyes. 50" x 35" x 1" (edition of 2)

"Heard’s current installation at Rodman Hall, Theatrum Mundi (“theatre of the world”), is a site-specific project that revives the tradition of the wunderkammer (literally “cabinet of curiosity” or “cabinet of wonder”) – collections of extraordinary objects which were popular among the wealthy and the elite of Europe during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The objects found inside a typical wunderkammer included everything from jewellery to natural history specimens and, while many scholars see the wunderkammer as the precursor to the modern museum, a true wunderkammer could be defined by its lack of strict curatorial practice. These were dynamic displays that changed according to the whim of the collector who would constantly be searching for something even more precious, even more spectacular and even more exotic to place within their wunderkammer." –Keri Cronin, 2008  

https://kericronin.com/2008/11/14/theatrum-mundi/

Votive was created in response to the historical tradition of wax votive after a summer residency in Caen at the Centre D’Art Contemporain in 2006.   In a practice that traces back to the Roman era, beeswax molded into the shape of a figure or body part was a traditional offering to saints in Normandy. Today this practice has been superseded by the more common practice of lighting candles, and one rarely sees the simple beeswax models that used to be familiar.

Votive is a sculpture that refers to the fragility of the human body, and the strong emotions connected to the passages of birth, illness and death that are expressed in the liminal sites of pilgrimage – the church, the shrine and – in modern times – the medical institutions of hospitals and hospices.  These are places where we experience extremes of emotion: intense worry and despair, but also hope and joy.  Whether religious, agnostic or atheist; we experience intense emotion in relation to the fragility of the body. We long to protect those we love from harm and illness, and suffer feelings of helplessness in the face of illness and death.  Historically the votive offering was a manifestation of these emotions.

Video documentation

Normally associated with perfection, symmetry is embedded in the human genome to such an extent that it is also expressed in a wide range of birth defects, including conjoined twins.

Beasts, 2005, mixed media (human hair, ceramic, fabric, embroidery).

Hart House Installation Collective.

Normally associated with perfection, symmetry is embedded in the human genome to such an extent that it is also expressed in a wide range of birth defects, including conjoined twins.

Part of my fascination with these images is their ambiguity. The works are inspired equally by the beauty of the craft, the curiosity of the monstrous form, and the contradiction of using fine craft to createan image depicting abject deformity.

Dermachrome was produced as part of an artist in residency program at Open Studio in Toronto. 

Prints are available from Open Studio

Textile Museum of Canada