Strands is a site-specific, kinetic sculpture, originally made for the Stantec Window Gallery in Toronto, 2014. The hanging sculpture uses embellishment and arduous routine repetition of found materials to speak to notions of craft production and decoration. In each strand, the exteriors of twenty-four small document tubes are meticulously covered with sequins, each secured with sharp pointed pins. The Stantec Window Gallery is located in the former home of the McGregor Sock Factory, at the corner of Spadina Avenue and Wellington Street West, in Toronto’s historic Garment District.

The resulting interior core is filled with closely packed sewing pins, occluding direct sight to the other end of the tube. The spiralling interior view has a kaleidoscopic effect that on the one hand references ostentation and design, yet on the other, alludes to the dual nature of pleasure and pain. Moreover, the building’s historical connection to fashion and garments is referenced through the material connection of the sequins and sewing pins.

The project is now installed at the Black Bellow Brewing Co., Collingwood, Ontario.