Synthesizing found objects, foraged material, and second-hand textiles, Gigi Woolery focuses on textiles and sculpture to create sentimental objects. Their work is influenced by land stewardship, the Colombian diaspora, and traditional home economics passed down from grandmothers, with themes that include gender and violence, and growing up culturally between the Pacific Northwest and Colombia.

In these works, Woolery used worn-out bedding textiles to illustrate flashes of childhood and recent memories. Embroidery is used to apply scraps of quilts to the surface of the blankets. The first shows applique flowers and rat characters that came from an antique baby scale. The other blanket references medical diagrams of a pelvis and lungs. Both the blankets show the signs of damage and staining, pointing to their use and function as storing time and witnessing bodies.

Gigi Woolery is a multidisciplinary artist working out of Portland, OR. Their art has been included in group shows in Portland, Los Angeles, and New York, and has been featured in local and national print and online publications. Gigi leads workshops on textile dyeing and repair aiming to bring hyperlocal knowledge and deep care for land to their art pedagogy. They will receive their BFA in Art Practice from Portland State in fall 2021.