Joan Wheeler
Joan Wheeler
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My fiber art is grounded in artivism, the intersection of art and activism. I
explore the traditional roles that have historically shaped and constrained
women’s lives- roles rooted in care, labor and silence- and the ways
women unravel and remake these roles. My work honors those women
who resist limitation, break free from expectation, and create meaningful
change in the world around them.
Deeply concerned about the damage being done to our planet, I use my art
to call attention to environmental destruction. Using reclaimed textiles I
create a record of labor, waste, water and human desire. The patchwork
surfaces echo landscapes that have been cut apart, dyed, polluted, and
reassembled, mirroring the way ecosystems are being altered by
overproduction and greed. My work is a call to accountability, asking
viewers to move beyond passive awareness and towards responsibility,
away from consumption and towards care. Our planet is not disposable and
there is no Planet B.
My paintings serve as my visual diary. As with dream imagery, interpretations may vary and content is personal and symbolic. Themes are highly autobiographical and reflect fear, hope, sorrow and longing, most often played out in a natural setting.
I explore my connection with the natural world and my sadness over the destruction that man has brought to our planet. I look for meaning in the ephemeral, yet cyclical, seasons of nature, and search for the interconnectedness of events over time.
Like leaves in a river, the events and relationships of today flow by and become the past, while the events of the future move inexorably closer. In this onward rush of time, nothing ceases to exist but rather moves to a space that is less visible to the human eye. In the same way, the fears and hopes of the past never dissapear but reconfigure endlessly in the inner theatre of the soul.