Drawn & Repulsed

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Artist: Connie Heller

Title: Drawn & Repulsed

Attribution: Drawn & Repulsed, 2023, Connie Cagampang Heller

Year: 2023

Materials: Series composed of four inherited monogramed napkins embroidered with silk and cotton thread with image transfer.

Dimensions: 20" x 20"

Image Statement: Nostalgia Hides the Ugly Truth/ A Deceit to Hide Slaughter and Dispossession/ Near and Far a Grim Treasure Trove/ Drawn and Repulsed: Inheritance. As I sort through my mother’s belongings, my inheritance, I feel myself caught between. On the one hand, I am drawn to the heroic stories, memories and artifacts of my mother’s European and later Texan family. While, on the other hand, my father’s families stories, my own experiences and research, leave me feeling troubled and repulsed. What do we do with these histories of ours? How do we hold on to our love for our families, while also acknowledging and reconciling the harms they participated in, so we might all move forward together into a truthful future?