Hold Me Like A Mother:Red


Hold Me Like A Mother:Red

Artist: Sarah Haskell

Title: Hold Me Like A Mother:Red

Attribution: Hold Me Like A Mother:Red, Sarah Haskell, 2022

Year: 2022

Materials: Madder dyed linen, Maine beach stones

Dimensions: 18" by 24" (variable)

Image Statement: As weeks of uncertainty have rolled into months and now years of living with Covid, political unrest and climate insecurity, I find myself in need of an anchor to ground my unsteady nerves. At first I took small natural objects such as a pinecone, a mushroom or a shell and crocheted a little nest or cozy to hold it safe. Then I began to do same for stones that I gathered along Maine’s shoreline. Bound in a soft covering made of crocheted, naturally dyed linen, these stones are held securely as a mother might swaddle her newborn. I have photographed these bound stones in groupings suggestive of partners, families, tribes or collectives. Whether solo or in clusters, the series of stone cozies, “Hold Me Like a Mother” has the gravitas I need to settle my unease.