Letter to the Mother 1995

Editor: Here we have Elena del Rivero's "Letter to the Mother" from 1995, a mixed-media drawing on paper. It reminds me a bit of weaving. The sheer labor of creating these thousands of tiny marks! How do you see the meaning of this work? Curator: The dedication immediately grabs me. 'Letter to the Mother' – not just a drawing, but an address. This speaks to the cultural importance we place on mother-child relationships and domestic spaces, traditionally associated with craft-based labor. Look at the repetitive nature of the mark-making; the materiality points to production through laborious means. The question for me is what sort of letter is produced through these means. What work is she referencing through this means of creation? Editor: That’s fascinating. It also feels intensely personal and almost hidden, right? Because we, as viewers, can't easily decipher it like a written letter. Is she hiding the letter? Curator: Precisely! This illegibility is key. Consider the way the artist painstakingly recreates something akin to textile production with pencil on paper. The drawing mimics and thus comments on the devaluation of 'women's work' such as embroidery. Is there a link between her labor and that of her subject? What are the tools she used? And why choose those tools for those messages? Editor: So, by using this painstaking method of drawing to mimic textile production, she is challenging these cultural perceptions? Highlighting labor often unseen? Curator: Yes, in essence! Del Rivero elevates it by giving this normally hidden work visual expression within the sphere of 'art.' But it asks of us a great deal. Time is part of it - it cannot be seen quickly, the slow labor made permanent is part of the message. Editor: I never thought about it like that before – seeing how the medium and process themselves can be powerful cultural statements. This makes me appreciate it much more. Curator: Agreed. This kind of piece teaches us about the social weight inherent to certain practices and materials.