Michelle Truxal

May 3, 2020

This last year we saw more than 400,000 Americans perish due to COVID-19. This is a

significant blow for all of us, but it is difficult to really comprehend and connect to

numbers on such a large scale. My intention is to create a visual and tangible

representation of those we have lost to COVID-19 to encourage expressions of grief,

promote healing, and advocate for access to healthcare. I want to encourage the

community to come together around these expressions of grief and healing and engage

each other in meaningful dialogue, while urging the community to consider the lessons

we have learned from our experience with COVID-19 and helping to facilitate positive

change within the community. My desire is to underscore the need for social support to

engage in healthy grieving practices and promote mental wellness.

I wanted to create a work that both reflects the statistical significance of the data

considered, as well as the strong emotional turmoil that data represents. Tapestry has

been used throughout history as a way of telling stories, most recently as a method of

data visualization. The symbolic significance of weaving fibers together is a potent

representation of how we are all affected by the tragedy the pandemic has wrecked

upon us. We are all connected by the same thread of fate and experience these

interesting times together.

This work includes the data from COVID-19 deaths over the course of 2020. The data is

segmented by week in rows and by day in columns, using the numbers to create

patterns within the weaving. Each numeric range will be indicated by a different color of

yarn and time will be represented by vertical placement. For each 10,000 deaths, a rya

knot will be tied to emphasize the significance of that milestone.

Because of the disproportionate number of people from lower socioeconomic groups

who have become sick and died, I would like to use this artwork to advocate for a local

Winona organization called Bridges Health. Bridges provides healthcare and counseling

services to uninsured or underinsured individuals. If you would like to honor those we

have lost, please consider donating your time or resources to Bridges Health.

Thank you for sharing space with me today.

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