From the Artist Statement: “Coming at a time when we are all searching for comfort and the assurance that we will be safe, the Security Blanket series seeks to explore the above questions and more. The first object to touch a newborn baby, the blanket offers warmth and reassurance, but the blanket continues to be an object associated with well-being and security long after early childhood. Security is defined as a state of being safe and free from worry, but is there more to its meaning than initially suggested by this dictionary definition? Security Blanket explores two notions of security. First, the security of the home – represented by antique, handmade domestic textiles such as doilies and lace. And second, the security of the state – represented by eight government-issue military blankets from Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. These repurposed objects constitute a blank canvas onto which another layer of meaning can be added to their already nuanced histories. The intricate patterning created by the use of traditional embroidery stitches integrates these two divergent representations of security on both a physical and conceptual level, producing works of visually interesting contrast that provoke the viewer to consider their own relationship to home, comfort, safety and security.”
– Jennifer Smith-Windsor

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Details of the installation
“… but at the same time could be hung on a wall as a piece of art.” – Jennifer Smith-Windsor
Security Blanket – Switzerland, 2016
Vintage military issue blanket, vintage lace and doilies, embroidery flosses
Security Blanket – Britain, 2020
Vintage military issue blanket, vintage lace and doilies, embroidery flosses
Security Blanket – Russia, 2018
Vintage military issue blanket, vintage lace and doilies, embroidery flosse
Security Blanket – Italy, 2017
Vintage military issue blanket, vintage lace and doilies, embroidery flosse
Security Blanket – Italy, 2017
Vintage military issue blanket, vintage lace and doilies, embroidery flosse
Security Blanket – Germany, 2021
Vintage military issue blanket, vintage lace and doilies, embroidery flosses
Security Blanket – Switzerland, 2016
Vintage military issue blanket, vintage lace and doilies, embroidery flosses
Watch a video tour of the exhibition and read an interviewwith artist Jennifer Smith-Windsor.
All images by Joceyln Reynolds, courtesy Craft Ontario.