Amanda Smith - Restless Sleepers

Forest Cover, 2019. Mixed Cotton fabrics, digital images on cotton, acrylic. 74 x 55"

Post Sleeper (open view) 2020. Mixed Cotton fabrics, digital images on cotton, acrylic, zipper; zipper. 74 x 55"

Private Limbo Thicket, 2021. Mixed fabrics, digital prints on cotton, batting, zipper; quilted.

Installation view, McMaster Gallery, University of South Carolina, 2021

No Two Ways, 2020. Oil on canvas; hammock

Installation view, McMaster Gallery, University of South Carolina, 2021

Humans are a part of nature, but we often describe our “relationship to the natural world” as though we are something separate. We define the boundaries of plots or expanses of nature that we consider our own, fight over its resources, and create endless streams of goods that help us ignore or sidestep the inconveniences of existing as part of nature. The paintings and quilt hybrids in Restless Sleepers explore the strange situation of trying to come to terms with our troubled relationship to the rest of nature. In 2019 I attended three different artist residencies situated across the Appalachian Mountain range. I engaged with local communities to listen to stories about their environments; how they have changed with industry, politics, or climate, as well as the barriers to accessing these natural spaces. The signs and markers of recreation and property rights read to me as mini painting exhibitions in space, but also as markers of social forces that shape our natural environments. I have adapted forms of functional items for resting or sleeping outdoors--such as sleeping bags and hammocks--into the shapes or substrates of my wall works. These works contrast the common associations of quilts, and simultaneously reference camouflage or protective cover while also being overtly visible.