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