Ruth Tabancay
Sutured, 2025
Surgical drape. Surgical suture 16" x 52" x 0.5"
'Sutured' is made from disposable surgical drape and stitched with surgical tools: surgical silk suture with a curved needle and needle holder.
Ruth Tabancay
Plastic Reef: UCSF, 2025
Acrylic yarn, medical plastic discards, polystyrene, pins, canvas 36" x 32" x 7
'Plastic Reef: UCSF' is the latest in my series on bleaching of the coral reefs. It is the anchor piece for my exhibition 'Big Oil, Global Warming, and a Calculated Stitch. 'See 'Plastic Reef' for description. All the plastic used for this work was sourced from University of California San Francisco Office of Sustainability, Laboratory Services, and Post-Lung Transplant Clinic
Ruth Tabancay
Plastic Reef, detail, 2024
Acrylic yarn, plastic discards, polystyrene, pins, canvas 60" x 108" x 10"
See 'Plastic Reef'
Ruth Tabancay
Plastic Reef, 2024
Acrylic yarn, plastic discards, polystyrene, pins, canvas 60" x 108" x 10"
Plastic Reef shows the effect of humans on the world's coral reefs. I use this and my other coral reef pieces to talk about the cascade that starts with burning of fossil fuels causing global warming, which increases the temperature of the ocean. This causes the death of the algae zooxanthellae which in turn cause the corals to die. Instead of the brilliant colors of the coral reefs, they become white, or bleached. I made coral reef organisms out of all colors of plastic to highlight human consumption. Are we trading our natural coral reefs for our dependence on plastic?
Ruth Tabancay
Adapting to New Substrates 4.0, 2023
Plastic, embroidery floss, silk organza 50" x 56" x 4?
I hope that bacteria, fungi, and larvae will digest plastics that are overwhelming the planet. But will they do it fast enough?
Ruth Tabancay
120°, 2019
Cast sugar 1/2" x 96" x 96"
Cast sugar hexagons arranged in 6-fold symmetry
Ruth Tabancay
Hyperbolic Space, 2019
Acrylic yarn 108" x 72" x 36"
Crocheted hyperbolic planes and pseudospheres
Ruth Tabancay
Quadrilateral I, 2019
Fabric, thread 18" x 18" x 1.5"
Ruth Tabancay
What’s In You and On You: Normal Flora and Pathogens 5.0, 2024
Fabric, embroidery floss, glass Petri dishes 1" x 20" x 28"
Embroidery in stitches that resemble bacteria. Colors of bacteria, agar, and light fields as seen in the laboratory.
Ruth Tabancay
Purl 322X, 2017
Cotton yarn, embroidery floss 21" x 25" x 0.5"
