Katherine Toukhy
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This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, Watercolor, acrylic, glassine, watercolor paper, organza, sharpie, thread, canvas strips, Variable dimensions

This Body Is Water, 1 & 2/ Gismee Maya, 1 & 2

This Body Is Water, 1 and 2
Installation
2017-2018

In This Body Is Water 1/ "Gismee Maya" 1 (Arabic phonetic spelling), the space was shaped by figurative cut-outs and draped fabric and canvas strips, like a waterfall or river, to convey displacement, grieving, and renewal. The leaping figure floats above organza pieces with my own and collected Arabic and English writings of immigrant women, stitched together and layered.

This Body Is Water. 2/ "Gismee Maya” 2 (Arabic phonetic spelling) was a durational installation, based on ideas of water and migration. Blue signified an emotional space of vulnerability, a liminal space of displacement, and a physical space of the ocean or sea- the connective tissue among continents. During the six weeks of the show, I spent several meditative hours in the gallery writing on the blue walls. I sourced from this partial list of people who have drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean to get to Europe: https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2018/06/19/TheList.pdf

One wall of This Body Is Water, 1, installed at Vermont Studio Center

One wall of This Body Is Water, 1, installed at Vermont Studio Center

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, Watercolor, acrylic, glassine, watercolor paper, organza, sharpie, thread, canvas strips, Variable dimensions

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, Watercolor, acrylic, glassine, watercolor paper, organza, sharpie, thread, canvas strips, Variable dimensions

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, Watercolor, acrylic, glassine, watercolor paper, organza, sharpie, thread, canvas strips, Variable dimensions

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, Watercolor, acrylic, glassine, watercolor paper, organza, sharpie, thread, canvas strips, Variable dimensions

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

airstrikes began2200 copy.jpg
This Body Is Water 1/Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 1/Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail

This Body Is Water 2/ Gismee Maya 2, 2018, writing names of the drowned as durational installation grows

This Body Is Water 2/ Gismee Maya 2, 2018, writing names of the drowned as durational installation grows

This Body is Water 2, detail shot

This Body is Water 2, detail shot

Detail of hand-written excerpts of list of refugees drowned in the Mediterranean

Detail of hand-written excerpts of list of refugees drowned in the Mediterranean

Installation shot at the beginning stages, before I started adding the writings on the wall

Installation shot at the beginning stages, before I started adding the writings on the wall

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This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, Watercolor, acrylic, glassine, watercolor paper, organza, sharpie, thread, canvas strips, Variable dimensions
This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, Watercolor, acrylic, glassine, watercolor paper, organza, sharpie, thread, canvas strips, Variable dimensions
This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail
airstrikes began2200 copy.jpg
This Body Is Water 1/Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail
This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail
This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail
This Body Is Water 1/ Gismee Maya 1, 2017, detail
This Body Is Water 2/ Gismee Maya 2, 2018, writing names of the drowned as durational installation grows
This Body is Water 2, detail shot
Detail of hand-written excerpts of list of refugees drowned in the Mediterranean
Installation shot at the beginning stages, before I started adding the writings on the wall