Lace/Wood by Andrea Tsang Jackson is one of many public artworks installed across the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Lace/Wood, Andrea Tsang Jackson (photo by Andrew Conrad, Halifax Public Libraries)
Andrea Tsang Jackson, 2024
Vinyl, acrylic panels, Dupont Tyvek®, vinyl upholstery
Keshen Goodman Public Library
About the artwork
Inspired by how sunlight leaks through the foliage canopy of a forest, Lace/Wood is created with a variety of representations of lace.
Drawings of different types of handmade lace create the ground, while the carved lace bookmarks and “stitches” act as tree trunks. The leafy lace above depict 10 different species of trees, some of which are native to the forest that surrounds the library. Others come from all around the world such as pagoda, ginkgo, palm, African plum, fig, and moringa.
The three lace bookmarks are carved into acrylic panels and framed in maple wood. Their designs are derived from the Barbara Underwood’s instructional book Introducing Traditional Bedfordshire Lace in 20 Lessons. Bedfordshire lace is a hand-made lace, often called a bobbin lace since the finished patterns of hand-twisted threads were wound on bobbins. The book is available in the Halifax Public Library’s catalogue.
The canopy is made of a type of Dupont Tyvek® and represents 10 species of trees: maple, birch, cedar, oak, pagoda, ginkgo, palm, African plum, fig, and moringa.
Using your fingers to trace the grooves of the lace bookmarks, search for the hidden images amongst the hills, study the shadows from the leafy lace above, or just have a seat and relax with a book.
photos by Andrew Conrad, Halifax Public Libraries
About the artist
Andrea Tsang Jackson is a textile artist, quilt designer, author and educator. After working in various design fields and settings ranging from architecture to museums, the quilting medium called to her as a way to explore place, belonging, and agency. She holds a Master of Architecture from McGill University and a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She was the 2017 Artist-in-Residence at the Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. In 2016, she was awarded the Etsy Canada Award for New Talent. Her work has been published in Flare, Design Milk Everyday, Uppercase, and various quilting publications. Andrea’s first book, Patchwork Lab: Gemology, was published by Lucky Spool in 2019. Andrea lives in Kjipuktuk / Halifax with her husband and two sons.