DENISE A. OLIVARES // Montreal, Quebec, Canada
What do images of honeybees, hidden song lyrics, colourful square-like shapes, two-hundred wooden beads and a hand stitched pillow all have in common? Together they respond to the fundamental question: What is art for?
Art is for communicating.
With symbolism playing an important role, there are various hidden clues to be discovered. In making this pillow, I wanted others to activate specific elements; folding open, folding closed, sliding out, sliding back in place, reading, touching, holding, and shaking. The honeybee is meant to signal the intricate nature of communication and connection, while the square-like shapes reveal my recent obsession of spaces within spaces. Inside the pillow, wooden beads move together and knock against one another making sound. The concealed lyrics to the song “Thank you”, by Robert Plant allude to notions of love lasting even through the darkest of times. You may consider this a relief pillow for pandemic times.
Inside the pouch/pillow, there are 200 wooden beads, filling it only half way. It has been nearly 200 days since the pandemic entered our space, our city. When you lay the pillow across the palms of your hands or on your lap, you can feel the beads move with the movement of your hands. The beads also make sound when you shake the pillow a bit. It’s a rather soothing sound of wooden objects moving together and knocking against one another.