Sabrina Sherman @sabsherman_art

Until the body no longer exists, 2023

video projection on repurposed fabric

Sabrina Sherman is a Montreal and New York-based interdisciplinary artist who explores themes of care and discomfort. Their work has been presented at the VAV Gallery, Art Mûr, Soft Square Gallery, and more.

Human interactions are a difficult yet necessary part of the quotidian. Navigating them through video and installation allows me to express my experiences in a relatable way. I make interdisciplinary installations that explore themes of human relationships and care through the lens of supportive and comfortable environments that attract the viewer and confront them with complex subjects. My materials include items that I interact with on a daily basis or items that had a previous life before me, through family or strangers. Material exploration is an integral part of my process as collecting is often the source of my inspiration. I’m interested in manipulating natural objects and placing them in conversation with human-made ones to question the value of the final creation. I destroy my materials in order to put them back together and give them a new life.

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Until the Body No Longer Exists explores the relationship between form and bodies through the lens of tattooing. The tattoo placed on the body is a memory of the fabric that was once laid there. The piece responds to object permanence and the relationship between body and space. I’ve always struggled to believe that I deserve to take up space. The tattoo creates permanence by placing a tattoo on a friend that represents the memory of the cloth, which has been given to me by a family member, laid on their body. Fabric only holds a form if it is forced to do so, either through sewing or pinning, but after long enough, the memory of what was there will be present through a wrinkle. Tattooing is a practice that creates permanence until the body no longer exists. I am bringing the two together to create a permanent memory representing the act of trust that happens between the tattooer and the tattooed, drawn from a temporary moment of care when a cloth is draped on a body.