A Place of Her Own 

Melissa Hefferlin made this still life painting, 'A Place of Her Own', using oil on panel. It’s a composition that plays with contrasts between the near and far, the homely and the exotic. The title suggests a space of security and independence, but whose space is it? We might assume that of the artist, but the objects in the frame hint at other stories. The embroidered textile hanging behind the objects appears to be a Suzani from Uzbekistan, a type of dowry traditionally made by women to celebrate marriage. By placing this Central Asian textile within a domestic scene, is Hefferlin commenting on the increasing displacement and migration of people and objects? Is she asking questions about cultural identity, and the ways that women express solidarity through craft? To explore these questions further, we might look to the traditions and cultural function of Suzani embroidery. The study of such objects can help art historians to understand the artwork better, and consider the social conditions of its making.