Cords and Knots

In "Cords and Knots,” Mary McFerran plays with ideas of memory and the contrasting senses of grasping and letting go. She builds up surfaces by combining spliced, recycled watercolor paintings, fabric remnants and then ties them together with knots of rope and string.

McFerran refers to the use of cords and knots by the Inca people as a way to store numeric values for calendars and other records. She links her own binding and unbinding of rope and string in her work to symbolizing the loosening of connections and beliefs she once held fast.