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Lia Cook
Beginning with slides of video stills, Lia
Cook creates dramatic, larger-than-life
woven portraits of children. Their sheer
size could make the subjects less person-
al, yet because of the way they are ren-
dered — pixels translated into thread — it
does not. Cook’s portraits, like Big Susan,
Big Richard, Binary Traces: Young Girl
(Threads of Memory) are a source of inti-
mate information and shared history. They
challenge the viewer’s perception as image
and structure compete, depending on how
near or far one stands in relation to the
portraits. The result is compelling
—
con-
templative works of great power and pres-
ence that create feelings of recognition,
nostalgia, and even grief and longing.
43lc Big Susan, woven cotton, 168” x 48”, 2005
57lc Binary Traces: Young Girl, woven cotton, 75” x 48”, 2005
56lc Big Richard, woven cotton, 168” x 48”, 2005
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