Marcy Friesen, “Be Strong,” 2022, digital photograph, edition of three, 23" x 30", displayed as digital image (image provided by the artist, courtesy of Fazakas Gallery)
A needle can inflict pain. But it can also repair. That's the premise behind a powerful new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Regina on now through March 30. If You Prick Me, Do I Not Bleed? features the work of artists Stacey Fayant, Marcy Friesen, Melanie Monique Rose, Hanna Yokozawa Farquharson, Mindy Yan Miller and Marcus Miller. They use embroidery, felting, beading, lacemaking, quilting and tattooing to explore the “optimistic act of repairing...Through their stitches, artists in the exhibition invite us all to mend and heal relationships with the past, the self, others, and the environment, shaping a resilient social fabric.” A series of events are planned around the exhibition, including a live skin-stitch tattooing on Feb. 24 with Fayant, who invites people to learn more about Indigenous cultural tattooing traditions as community gatherings and acts of healing.
