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