Artist Laments the Good Friday Earthquake

Detail of Lament by Esther Hong ©2013

Esther Hong, an Alaskan based artist, participating in the Communities, Disaster and Change exhibition created her 32” x 48” piece from deconstructed canvas cloth. Her explanation of this process is “The process of removing each thread, one by one, is meditative and allows me a great deal of time to contemplate the project I am involved in. This seemed to me to be the ideal approach to this, my response to the 1964 tragedy.” Esther then weaves strands from her own hair into the deconstructed canvas. 

As abstract as Esther Hong’s piece is you get a sense that the later stages of her artistic process involved healing the broken down canvas. Which is true of the aftermath of any disaster. A long healing period must take place. Her piece is called “Lament.” How would you lament after a disaster? 

Please take a look: http://www.valdezmuseum.org/events/communities-disaster-change/