AFA 22nd Anniversary

2022 Antiques & Fine Art 77 Marie Watt (Seneca, born 1967), Companion Species: Cosmos, Sunrise, Flint, Seneca, 2019–2021. Reclaimed wool blankets and embroidery thread, 116 x 220 inches. Museum purchase by exchange. Peabody Essex Museum (2021.4.1). Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Kevin McConnell. In the Seneca Creation Story, before the Earth existed, humans lived in the Sky World. Sky Woman fell through a hole in the sky (she may have been pushed), and as she fell, birds softened her landing. A motley crew of four-legged animals helped her to survive in this new place, which came to be known as Turtle Island (also known now as North America). The birds and animals are the first teachers. Cosmos, Sunrise, Flint speaks directly to this Creation Story. “When one is raised to think of animals as teachers and also as extensions of us—our relatives or relations— you’re less likely to be able to separate how our actions affect the environment, animals and the natural world,” says Watt. In collaboration with PEM, Watt hosted five sewing circles for participants to co-create. Together they embroidered blanket fragments with evocative words and phrases. Watt stitched the panels together into the final monumental artwork. Ultimately, through this piece, Watt asks us all to consider: What would the world look like if we thought of ourselves as companion species? Place, nations, generations, beings. All interconnected. Moving through the world, nurturing these relationships.