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
detail, A Monument to Isabella
detail, The Ladies: Isabella
detail, The Ladies: Isabella
cast paper teapot, tea cup, saucer and chair
The Ladies: Isabella, detail
The Ladies: Isabella, installation view,
Isabella’s lace
Isabella’s pin cushion
detail, Pendants for Rita
detail, The Ladies: Isabella
baby shoes knitted by Isabella
A Necklace for her Daughters, detail
The Ladies: Isabella, detail
The Ladies: lace fragment
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.
A Blouse for Rita travels
detail, The Ladies: Jean, Rita and Helen
Helen’s slip travels to the Shield
detail of bridge table
Rita’s hand made coffee set
Bridge Cloth II
Paris in the Thirties
detail
Monuments to Rita, Jean and Helen
Marriage Trunk for Helen, Paper chair and table
Bridge Cloth III
The Ladies: Rita, Jean, Helen detail
detail, The Ladies: Jean, Rita and Helen
Monument to Rita
Jean’s housekeeping notebook
detail
held in the hand: glass detail
detail, The Ladies: Jean, Rita and Helen
detail, bridge accessories: cloth, pencils, tallies, table markers
Rita’s coffee set
detail, The Ladies: Jean, Rita and Helen
Monument to Jean
detail
Jean’s graduation photo