KERRY HENTGES
THROUGH LINE

MFA THESIS EXHIBITION
November 15 - 27, 2021 

About the Exhibition

For as long as I can remember, I have had a phobic fear of the unknown. I dread things that haven’t yet happened, working out multiple scenarios in my mind as to how things could unravel. I especially fear my own mortality and the nothingness that might follow. “Through Line” includes several series of prints and large tapestries that explore these feelings. I use printmaking and sewing to explore, communicate, and relieve my anxiety. Through the process of creation I inhabit my body instead of my mind.

I chose to work with the monoprint precisely because it only allows one print per set-up. I drop thread across the surface of the ink and intentionally let it fall in random ways. The print becomes a log of the moment, a unique imprint of that section of time. I ward off the fear of nothingness by embracing the current moment. The print is my way of appreciating time and noting its passing. The chance nature of the printmaking process mimics the role chance plays in life and death.

I create large tapestries that explore my anxiety loop where I let the sewing machine run at full speed and draw the thread across the surface of the fabric. When I mimic this repetitive loop in my work, it becomes a soothing process instead of an anxiety-provoking one. I am able to reclaim my mind. I jam the pedal to the floor and reverse the fabric, letting thread build up and creating a textured surface. As I stitch, the fabric pulls in an uncontrollable way, echoing life’s unpredictable path. The whir of the sewing machine becomes hypnotic and I can only focus on the direction of the fabric, fully immersing myself in the moment. My work unravels the anxiety loop and restructures it into something else entirely.

When I step back and look at the work the process has brought forth, I am able to see the transformation. Energy and chaos have blended to create something that communicates meaning back to others.