Molly Morningglory
wind play, 2020
cotton muslin, local clay, in situ charcoal, lake water, video 66"x72"
A still image from video documentation of the artist playing with her work and shadow in the wind. Time spent in both play and nature stimulate the ventral vagal nervous system and are crucial to the physiological systems that develop empathy and the ability to collaborate and build community.
Molly Morningglory
ablutions (ritual), 2021
Cotton muslin dress, local clay 60"x54"
Still image from a performance entitled Ablutions where I cleanse my body with local clay. The pragmatic, handmade, cotton muslin dress worn in the performance is displayed as a document and archive of the action. The red clay stains the fabric and builds up on the surface, leaving a record of the land and body.
Molly Morningglory
ablutions (gallery install) 1, 2021
cotton muslin dress, local clay, video projection 5'x3'x3'
Consisting of fibers, clay, video, and performance, ablutions is a multimedia work documenting a play on ritual bathing. The artist cleanses herself of social proprieties of age and gender in preference and reverence for the pleasure of mud. The choice to handmake her garment rejects convenience culture and keeps her labor out of the cycle of consumer capitalism. Her white dress is cleansed of toxic purity culture with the action of dyeing it with the ochre pigment of red clay. Social constructs of age-appropriate behavior are released as she rubs her face across the cool clay, a gentle smile expressing the pleasure of clay’s silky slick caress creating a new skin.
