J  O  A  N  N  A     G  A  R  M  O  N

Translation of personal text into an abstract painting, followed by the collaborative reconfiguration of the painting into a patchwork quilt, 2m x 2m, 2025

 

A Patchwork Intervention follows a personal process of translation and transformation across three stages: an unsent letter, an abstract painting, and finally, a collaborative quilt. I developed this method to process aspects of my family history that continue to shape my present, with each step offering a different mode of engaging with embodied patterns shaped by intergenerational trauma. The process begins with free writing as a form of cognitive processing and emotional release; the writing is then abstracted through gesture and material onto canvas. The act of painting becomes a physical dialogue — a way of connecting to the body through texture, rhythm, and movement. In the final stage, the painting is collectively taken apart and reassembled into a patchwork quilt. Quilting carries a long lineage; as a craft passed down through generations, it offers a positive counterpoint to inherited trauma — framing legacy not only as burden, but as something that can be touched, held, and reshaped. The final stage was a site of shared negotiation, where fracture and transformation unfolded with care and mutual support.

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Collaboration with members of my chosen family: Francesca Brecha, Frank Buchta, Doug Chang, Karina Donis, Andreea Dragos, Avery Edelman, Jake Wiseman Lovett, Nadja Wieler, and Mirthe van Popering.