Erin E. Castellan
In this digital age of slick screens and quick images, I create
physical images that promote slow viewing experiences and
intimate, tactile engagements. I am interested in the idea of slow
seeing. I am particularly interested in how efforts to slow and
carefully examine the physical world can connect humans to their
surroundings with empathy and compassion.
These images cannot be known in an instant. Tactile curiosities,
optical illusions, and relationships that connect across forms
are slowly revealed to viewers who take their time in looking.
My process, combining paint with hand-embroidery, beading,
and knitting, is labor-intensive. I consider how accumulative
fiber processes and the measurable time I put into each work
may influence not only the length but also the quality of a
viewer’s perceptual involvement. For example, I believe viewers
become entangled in visually picking apart the minute details of
embroidered stitches, but their captivation may also be driven by
a desire for the intimacy and human interaction that is embodied
in each stitch.