13 months in the making

I was first notified July 2011 of the possibility of doing an art piece in St. Petersburg, Russia in the Fall 2012. That was 13 months ago. 

Over this period of time there has been much back and forth with CEC/Artslink in regards to planning this project and trip. 

I was then contacted in March about an additional installation in another city. This city being Nizhniy Novgorod. 

At that point I began to focus on Love and Loss.

I turned to the writings of Russian, Alexandr Pushkin. I was drawn to and inspired by his poem, "Remembrance" as so much of my work over the last 2 decades has focused on loss and separation.  

This would be the basis for the installation in St. Peterburg.

In 2006, I traveled to Lima, Peru and encountered the "Parque de Amor". A beautiful, almost Gaudiesque, park on the banks of the Pacific Ocean by artist Victor Delfin. It was a lovely place to sit and relax and be in love. This would be the basis for the installation in Nizhniy Novgorod. 

Colors were selected for the flags and much sewing and embroidering began for these two fence installations.

I have been invited by CEC Artslink, an international arts organization, to produce 2 installations in Russia. The first in Nizhniy Novgorod in conjunction with the National Centre for Contemporary Art and the second in St. Petersburg in conjunction with Art in Odd Places.
This is my story.