Martha Daghlian
On her website, artist Martha Daghlian refers to her work as “artless fashions and unfashionable art.” It’s a great catchphrase and one that does a decent job of summing up her difficult-to-define aesthetic, which utilizes traditionally feminine craft—like sewing and embroidery—as both celebration and commentary on the place and plight of women in the world.
That’s never been more apparent than in Ceremonial Vestments, Daghlian’s new exhibit at Portland contemporary art gallery Melanie Flood Projects. The five garments on display each present literal pictures of women going through, as she calls it, “incidents of transformational violence.”