Intimate. Soft. Protective.

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Underestimated. Overlooked. Devalued.

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Worn. Worked. Discarded.

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It is easy to dismiss textiles as innocuous and pedestrian, valueless and inconsequential.

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Instead, emerging artist Ella Wright is preoccupied with exploring the unexpected and often hidden depth of meaning found in textiles. At the same time, Wright revisits and remixes textile traditions and techniques. In this manner, Wright’s work is driven by investigating and giving voice to the neglected histories, practices, and experiences of women.

 

As an intersectional ecofeminist, Wright draws connecting threads between the overlooked contributions and realities of women, the diminishment of textiles, and our collective devaluation of the environment. In doing so, Wright uncovers and questions the continuing impacts of patriarchal ideologies, which continue to label, depreciate, and control what is perceived as feminine. Wright interrogates this persistent misogyny, whether in the ongoing dismissal of women’s mental health or in the human degradation of the environment.

 

Originally from Kingston Ontario, Wright graduated with a BFA (Sculpture, 2019) from the University of Ottawa and is now based in Ottawa. Wright’s artistic practice is nourished by her work as a librarian at Library and Archives Canada where she relishes unearthing unknown stories and diverse histories that feed back into her creative process.