MONICA C. LoCASCIO

String Theory / Embrecord

I was taught how to cross-stitch by my grandfather’s twin sister when I was five years old. The act of creating something voluminous from simple thread, feeling how a piece steadily grows under my fingers, and watching as a pattern emerges from the chaos of string was then, as it is now, more than a creative practice — it is a somatic ritual that soothes my nervous system, and grounds me in space and time.

In this series, philosophical and mathematical concepts are explored through the geometrical application of a tiled motif of interlocking chevrons. The motif, extrapolated from the artists’ habitual drawing practice, evokes both technical drawings and organic flying figures. The color and length of the thread, and the positions of stitches are established through a synesthetic body-sensing. The pieces are often installed sculpturally, hanging in space, with mirrors employed so that both versions (front conscious, back subconscious) are visible as multiple perspectives at once.

Each piece is a meditation on how theory can take form, or how it might be expressed physically, in regular and abnormal ways. How would a tight, regular geometric constellation of particles unfold as it is extrapolated out spiralically? How would the pattern morph, interact with earlier iterations of itself, breakdown, or build? How does my bodyfulness (in relation to mindfulness) surface in color, fiber, and direction?

As a piece grows and gains depth, more is learned about the subject matter: the geometry of it feeds back into its meaning and vice versa, creating a new dimension in which to contemplate and understand the topic. “Mistakes”, the accidentally-broken rules in the sequence or pattern of stitches, are not undone but rather celebrated as they illuminate different facets of the fractal nature of the story simultaneously occurring at both the micro and macro level.