Materia Medica

Cyanotype, archival photographs printed on transparency, laser-cut plexiglass, yarn, pill capsules, poppy seeds, alcohol bottle

Cyanotype photographs, 102 cm x 76 cm each

Plexiglass Vitrines 45 cm x 15 cm x 15 cm each

2018

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Materia Medica takes place at the confluence of botany, traditional textile practices, plant-based medicine, and the history of institutional mental health treatment present at Kingston’s Rockwood asylum. Within plexiglass vitrines, this installation contrasts objects representative of primary treatment methods used at the asylum with embroidered plants traditionally used

to treat mental health symptoms. Paired with cyanotype prints of Rockwood’s abandoned Greenhouse, the installation questions medical institutions and the devaluing of “feminine” textile practices and plant-based healing.