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Saturday, April 18, 2026

Art Laguna World : Ashlin McAndrew Body and Craft, Constructions as Images :

ASHLIN McANDREW

Body and Craft

Ashlin McAndrew (New Jersey, 1994) began her artistic journey with a gift: a handmade doll, given to her by her babysitter. That early encounter sparked a lifelong pursuit of sewing and handcraft. When her formal studies failed to offer what she called the "lost art of handcrafting", she sought it elsewhere, building relationships with makers who could cultivate and pass on that knowledge directly. Her work centers the body as a means of engaging with the material world — a practice that becomes not only a physical expression of our humanity, but a meditative ritual through which we understand ourselves as part of nature.

In Divisible, 2025

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FINALIST ARTWORK - Upcoming exhibition in Arsenale Nord (Venice)

The work In-Divisible (2025) was created using the fabric of old decommissioned American flags. The piece references the artist's early memory of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school on the morning of 9/11. The work addresses the role of ritual in propaganda, personal and collective memory, and veneers created versus the reality lived. Flags are taken apart and stitched back together to create the word "Indivisible," questioning the actions and false image that has been coupled with this word, while holding hope for genuine unity and repair.

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THE QUILTING

As mentioned previously, the theme of quilting connects not only to artistic representation, but to the body itself. What the artist values the most about this technique is its fundamentally human, imperfect quality. Each stitch carries will and intention — not mechanical repetition, but the deliberate presence of the person making it. There is magic and special care embedded in what is sewn, and it is precisely here that McAndrew begins her work.

“To me, art has always been, first and foremost, an act of seeing and paying attention. People often think of art as our capacity to render or create things — but to create anything meaningful, we first have to learn how to see and pay attention. To me, paying attention is the deepest act of care. ”

- A. McAndrew

THE INTERVIEW

The Body is a central element of your artistic career: it’s implicitly present in every artwork, establishing a relationship between body and materials. How does this concept integrate with your work?

To me, relating to and having a dialogue with materials — and even other humans — is a dialogue my body is engaged in, rather than my intellect. I perceive our bodies to be extremely intelligent, holding ancient wisdom, with a much deeper capacity to perceive, feel, and hold nuanced and varied perspectives.

So many ancient cultures have been rooted in a practice of making and craft. We can’t make things purely with our minds. [...]

Full interview →