Fabric of Humanity - Repairing My World

Tabb writes of this work in the "Humanity Is Not A Spectator Sport" exhibition catalogue (available for purchase):

"As the Covid-19 pandemic settled in, it became apparent that we were all, in one way or another, connected together by an invisible enemy; an unseen thread ran across the planet, uniting us in a way one never might have imagined.

My husband, a hospital executive, counted ventilators in his head instead of sheep as he lay awake at night. I had a front-row seat to the unimaginable task of pandemic management. I retreated into my studio with a deep sense of helplessness.

Like many the world over, the pandemic left me isolated from friends and family near and far. As a result, I decided I would pull my loved ones closer to me through my artwork. I began sourcing fabric swatches from people I know and care for around the world and started on an asymmetrical ever-growing quilting project.

While I expected simply the swatches, each seemed to arrive with a story attached. I read of loved ones long gone, places frequented years ago, and family treasures. I was humbled and touched by the thought and care people gave to my request. People from as far as South Africa, England, Germany, Israel, and across the United States sent me cherished pieces of garments and heirlooms they had held onto for decades, even a lifetime: a one-hundred-year-old nightcap from the ‘old country’, a sixty-year-old baby bonnet, a swatch from a wedding dress worn over thirty years ago. The notes which arrived with each swatch hand-stitched together became the “backstory,” a glimpse of our shared humanity. Stories varied from triumphal to tragic. A friend donated her first scrubs from a medical residency completed more than
twenty years ago. A mother who had lost her child in a car accident donated a sock reading, “The World is a Dick.” To these precious pieces, I added my own — pieces from my now-adult childrens’ baby blankets and a leotard from gymnastics days long gone. I also was compelled to pay homage to lost loved ones and to those whose names now carry deep meaning: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

This concept is very much linked to a core Jewish tenet of repairing the world “tikkun olam.” My Fabric of Humanity became a living, breathing time capsule of hope, love, and optimism. In my studio, it felt as though I was actively stitching together some of the deep divisions in our world. I was stitching through the pain, hurt, and separations that have plagued the United States over the past few decades. I felt as if I was making families whole, connecting family members with their now-deceased loved ones. I had the power to stitch back together a world that may feel dark and broken on the outside but remains vibrant and alive on the inside."

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Caron Tabb’s newest show, Humanity Is Not A Spectator Sport explores many subjects, from her white privilege to how all viewers can engage in social justice through art. Using not only her own works, body, mind and experience, but also gallery walls, Tabb’s feminist contemporary art as a jewish female artist leads to unique creations. Weaving in her South African origins, her Israeli upbringing and her last two decades in the United States, Tabb’s unique yet international style in art sets her apart. Now working from Boston, her conceptual wall art and sculptures continue to grow and evolve.

For more images of each piece, please inquire above or contact Beacon Gallery. Virtual or in-person visits to see the work are also available.