I had the idea of this artwork during the COVID lockdown. My mother was in an aged care facility in Sydney, and I was unable to visit her.

Like many people, my relationship with my mother was somewhat fraught, and guilt rode heavily on my shoulders.

Remembering some great things about her, and manifesting these in an artwork, and in the artist statement helped me to regain some perspective forgiveness for me and for her.

I also wanted to honour my father; something I had not done before.

An artwork can come from a deep place, and be useful as a way of processing what life throws at you.

Originally, I had the boxes made, then put multiple layers of gesso on the front, sanding between layers.

I allowed the last coat to remain unsanded, and after using thin layers of paint, sanded back lightly so the ridges in the gesso created vertical lines. I wanted to indicate images from the past in this way.

I worked from photos I took myself, of the items arranged the way I wanted them. 

To Mum's box I added retro fabric to reference the 1950s.

In Dad's box I also added a photo of him with his mother just before he left for NG.

The decision to stand the boxes rather than hanging them was simply that I thought they worked better together that way. Not all decisions artist make are deep and meaningful; sometimes they are just pragmatic.

[Written by Chris Wilson, 2021]

Still life painting in two parts, one depicting various items associated with needlework and the other an assortment of personal and documentary objects. Oil on plywood.