Madeline Bonk
Touching Wood and Fabric
“Moving beyond [the body’s] own boundaries, a movement of boundary itself, [is] central to what bodies are”
– Judith Butler, Bodies That Matter
I cut down a tree to build this jack loom. It is made of hardwood, PVC pipe, and Leclerc Loom hardware that was purchased, combining old materials with new. Every tool I use, a chainsaw, a drill, the loom itself, is an extension of my movement, a way of working beyond my body’s boundaries. Machinery has been an important part of my art, and this device has become an extension of my body. The loom is assembled with domino joints that are easily taken apart. This allows me to take the loom apart and move it around, like prosthetics. Building this loom has connected me, in a very visceral way, to the history of weaving and carpentry, two ancient crafts I’ve worked with. Through it, I’m able to reach-toward an intangible past and an optimistic future. Here touch becomes a gendered, time, and space altering force, one that slows the obsolescence of carpentry and weaving through the relation between my body and my loom.
