The Ladies: Isabella
Storefront Studio, 1144 4th Ave, Prince George, BC, August 25- November 1, 2016
“The legacy of Isabella McKenzie is built of pulp and human spirit. The story is almost wordless.
The Ladies illuminates Barton-Taits ancestry, FRANK PEEBLES / PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN AUGUST 23, 2016
A Necklace for her Daughters, detail
detail, The Ladies: Isabella
Isabella’s pin cushion
baby shoes knitted by Isabella
The Ladies: lace fragment
detail, The Ladies: Isabella
detail, A Monument to Isabella
detail, Pendants for Rita
detail, The Ladies: Isabella
The Ladies: Isabella, installation view,
cast paper teapot, tea cup, saucer and chair
The Ladies: Isabella, detail
Isabella’s lace
The Ladies: Isabella, detail
The Ladies: Jean, Rita & Helen
The next exhibition in the series curated by Maeve Hanna featured the Ladies: Jean, Rita, and Helen, Isabella’s daughters.
Rita was a teacher, bookkeeper, single mother, grandmother, breadwinner for Isabella and Helen, holder of the ancestral memories; Jean was a nurse, an independent woman, a financial whiz, a traveler; Helen was also a nurse, a great storyteller, and a very funny person. Their lives reflect the lives of women after the two world wars and during the depression – they were independent, resourceful, thriving on their abilities to survive whatever life threw their way with humour and intelligence.
Bridge Cloth III
Jean’s graduation photo
Helen’s slip travels to the Shield
detail, The Ladies: Jean, Rita and Helen
Rita’s hand made coffee set
Monument to Jean
Monument to Rita
Bridge Cloth II
Marriage Trunk for Helen, Paper chair and table
detail, bridge accessories: cloth, pencils, tallies, table markers
Monuments to Rita, Jean and Helen
The Ladies: Rita, Jean, Helen detail
held in the hand: glass detail
Rita’s coffee set
detail, The Ladies: Jean, Rita and Helen
detail, The Ladies: Jean, Rita and Helen
detail
A Blouse for Rita travels
Paris in the Thirties
detail
detail of bridge table
detail
Jean’s housekeeping notebook
detail, The Ladies: Jean, Rita and Helen
