On Loss and Absence

Textiles of Mourning and Survival

Isaac Facio, Nneka Kai, L Vinebaum , Anne Wilson

$61.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Art Institute of Chicago
30 September 2025

Decorative arts; Textile artworks; Exhibition catalogues & specific collections; Fashion & textiles: design; Sociology: death & dying

A journey through the rich histories of textiles that explores their significant cultural roles, from memorializing lost loved ones to resisting oppression

From ancient Egyptian shrouds to medieval relics, textiles have played both functional and symbolic roles in rituals of death across time and place. Featuring funeral hangings, mourning samplers, garments, and many other textiles and fragments, along with works by contemporary textile artists such as Nick Cave (b. 1959) and Angela Hennessey (b. 1971), this book highlights how these objects help people negotiate experiences of loss, grief, healing, and survival.

With over seventy textiles dating from antiquity to today, On Loss and Absence brings together examples from cultures and traditions around the world. Close-up photographs provide an intimate look at the wealth of artistic and historical information embedded in their intricate details and painstaking techniques. In four key sections—Death and Grief, Transition of Realms, Care and Healing, and Resistance and Survival—artists, conservators, educators, and scholars offer their in-depth perspectives on select objects and their context. Contemporary practitioners, including the Noqanchis collective of Andean weavers and Navajo weavers Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas, provide insight into the enduring legacies of Indigenous textile arts. A behind-the-scenes look at textile conservation examines preservation techniques in the larger thematic context of care and survival.

Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago

Exhibition Schedule:

Art Institute of Chicago

(September 2025–April 2026)

Contributions by: Jerry Bleem
Edited by: Isaac Facio, Nneka Kai, L Vinebaum, Anne Wilson
Imprint: Art Institute of Chicago
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 267mm, Width: 229mm,
ISBN: 9780300284089
ISBN 10: 030028408X
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 30 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Isaac Facio is associate conservator in Conservation and Science at the Art Institute of Chicago. Nneka Kai is an interdisciplinary artist based in Atlanta, GA. L Vinebaum is associate professor of fiber and material studies and affiliated full-time faculty in the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Anne Wilson is an artist and professor emeritus in fiber and material studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.