In her own words, Erin M. Riley has been weaving like crazy this summer. It's pretty clear she is on a streak judging by her updated website and the numerous tapestries she's shared with me. She takes found images of parties in various stages of debauch, young girls experimenting with cell phone pics and found facebook images and weaves them together, literally. I asked Erin to tell me a bit about the inspiration behind her latest group of tapestries that address a darker side of the internet and the youth of today:
I am working on a series that is inspired by the internet and the excess of images available. The pictures that I am most drawn to are ones depicting self-discovery, experimentation, vulnerability, regression or development. I am interested in the ways women become insecure, defiant, stubborn, obsessed, neurotic, etc. and I create stories based on research [on the web]. Images such as "Keg Stand!", "Wet T-shirt", "Hangover" and "Facebook Drama" are pictures representing young girls in absurdly vulnerable positions. They are drinking heavily, and presenting their bodies or personal issues to the masses. I find images from internet searches and Facebook, blowing them up into cartoons for my tapestries and weaving them on a Macomber floor loom with wool. These pieces are presented as traditional tapestries of snapshots which depict a generation of excess and confusion.
