Dismantle. Reimagine. Rebuild.
A single mother raising a family in Egypt, my grandmother took apart the clothes she made for her children to rebuild the materials into new garments. Born out of necessity and nourished with careful handwork, she dismantled, reimagined, and crafted possibility, making much with little. What if we took the same approach to the structures that guide our relationships to human and more-than-human kin?
We humans are entangled in a complex web of relations. Networks of Care uses processes of undoing, reimagining, and reforming to manifest structures where each part holds and is held. Dismantling structures entwined within a network of exploitative capitalism, including shipping palettes and discarded clothing, allows for reconfigurations inspired by principles of mutuality, care, and collectivity. Objects made of reclaimed clay reference rituals dedicated to transformation practiced by my Egyptian ancestors. These materials carry memories of global trade, cultural exchange, and the touch of laborers worldwide. In contrast to extractive systems in which they have travelled, realigning these materials one relationship at a time conjures a gentler way of being with the living and non-living bodies around us.
The fabric of our connectedness has become torn and must be mended. Networks of Care emerges from the intersection of Dykstra’s personal history, critique of exploitative capitalism, and a committed belief in the possibility of systemic transformation. This work is rooted in critiques of the systems within western societies that propose and uphold firm and hierarchical boundaries between the valuable and disposable, self and other, human and non-human beings. Compelled by a belief that the objects we make help to shape the realities we inhabit, each gesture within these works is infused with a quiet prayer, a desperate plea, and a fervent commitment to forming healthier systems of relation.