Watch Holder c. 1936

Curator: What strikes me first is its delicate geometry. Everything is placed with intention, as if conjured up in a daydream, almost. Editor: Yes, there is a captivating play here! So, we are looking at 'Watch Holder', a mixed-media drawing dating to around 1936, by Gordena Jackson. Note the red, densely beaded decorative form that could accommodate a watch... The drawing shows both Indigenous design sensibility and material reality through its careful labor, perhaps influenced by craft traditions, no? Curator: Precisely, which makes me wonder about time, about slowing down... Consider how each dot or mark seems deliberate. It speaks to the care embedded in creation, which makes one contemplate the relationship between art and the handmade, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Definitely, the pointillist technique also directs our thinking toward manufacturing... Was it ever mass produced for department stores perhaps? What statement, about both production and domesticity, did the creation and potential circulation of this particular ‘Watch Holder’ serve in society at that time? Curator: Ah, now you are reminding me how memory is materially embodied here! Every culture uses different textures and tools, thus shaping reality, don’t you agree? The watch holder itself may fade away but in its stead blossoms some deeply ingrained sensation – I think of comfort… warmth… Editor: Well, given that Jackson’s work emphasizes material processes that would ultimately result in consumer goods, I am also pushed to consider, you know, its use and purpose. Beyond the aesthetic value, its functionality is key, right? The work sits somewhere on the borderline between mass product and unique creation. Curator: True! Now I think, there's an inherent contrast, a playful dance if you will, between practicality and artistry here. As someone looking from the outside, I see something more like yearning for stillness in our hurried routines, really a kind of poetic observation in disguise. Editor: Looking closer and listening to your thoughts I am inclined to adjust my point of view… It really opens to interpretation when taking cultural references into account. The artist blends purpose with reflection so effortlessly, what is left is an enduring and deeply evocative image! Curator: Exactly, so much richness, materially and symbolically packed into something so simple…