Ghost Seamstress | Michèle Karch-Ackerman

The act of making garments by hand, one by one, each time with a wearer in mind, is an act of devotion. When the intended is no longer living, this may seem an impractical gift. What it does, is hold space for their imagined lives, a place in which to put the energies of grief and hope. Each stitch is a reverential gesture; an offering; a product of care. The threads of Ghost Seamstress wind through histories, literature, domesticity, nostalgia, and labour to consider the lives of women and girls.

Michèle Karch-Ackerman is a nationally recognized contemporary artist whose installations are known for inspiring viewers with their provocative and touching subject matter. For over thirty years her artistic practice has involved the devotional act of sewing clothing. Karch-Ackerman is an installation artist drawn to domestic, traditionally feminine, work: embroidery, needlepoint, knitting, dress and doll-making. Her work considers the dead, the forgotten, and the hurting.