I create fabric collages about my embodied experience based on moments of dislocation. I have been coming of age in a time of dysfunctional systems and structures that are leading to catastrophic outcomes. My earlier pieces focused on apocalyptic moments exploring loss of control through mid-pandemic images of empty public transportation, empty office buildings, and the 2020 West Coast wildfires. 

My recent work has placed greater focus on absurdity than imminent crisis, including signs and symbols that are earnest, yet fail to communicate: a message posted on an exterior stairwell written on ripped corrugated cardboard and anti-capitalist graffiti scrawled across temporary public works signage. In these images, people and institutions post signs holding meanings that feel incongruous, performative, or pointless. By recreating these scenes in extreme detail using fabric, I heighten the inanity of these compositions. 

My practice focuses on wearable art that forces these messages to exist beyond their original context. The work highlights my feelings of dislocation mixed with curiosity and amusement at how we as humans try so hard to connect, yet how often we miss the mark. In these ways, my work is both cynical and hopeful as I find joy in small scrawled messages left for someone unknown to decipher, and which I have rediscovered and framed. 

By sewing these images onto comfortable everyday clothing, my work is shared outside of a gallery space, and as these garments are worn and enjoyed, I am documenting something positive: the engagement of the wearer with my art.

About

Ingrid Henderson (b. 1997, Berkeley, CA) is a textile artist who explores her embodied experience through fabric collages. She graduated cum laude with honors from Wellesley College in 2019 and received her Master in Fine Arts at California College of the Arts in 2023. Since her graduation, she was selected to be a resident at Kunstkollektivet 8B in Denmark in the fall of 2023 and was there for three months leading up to her first international show, “To Make Happy.” In spring 2024, she was awarded a residency with Youth Art Works, where she designs and teaches a textiles art class. She is also active in the Bay Area art world and has participated in several shows in both fine arts and fashion since her return from Denmark.