ONE FORWARD, TWO BACK

by Anna Taylor

5. November 2016

Small Projects is pleased to invite you to the opening of Anna Taylor's solo show: "One Forward, Two Back".

"One Forward, Two Back" presents a series of hand embroidered works created in residence at the Textílsetur Íslands (Icelandic Textile Centre) by Canadian artist Anna Taylor. Using the traditional medium of needlework Nordic Model expresses contemporary moral issues surrounding the criminalization of sex work in Canada and the recent adoption of sex work legislation influenced by the nordic model as used in Norway, Sweden and Iceland.

Taylor’s work is intended an invitation to engage in a dialog about sex work within the frame of culture and history. She is interested in providing context and understanding to viewers to grapple with how these laws come to be, and the differences between the intention of the law and its practical implications. "One Forward, Two Back" explores how our view of the sex industry is woven into national identity and how these views affect the laws that govern and confine the lives of sex workers in our population.

ANNA TAYLOR is an artist, crafter and sex work activist from Halifax Nova Scotia. Using hand processes and natural dyes, Taylor creates playful works that redefine norms of sexual representation in the belief that craft is the ultimate sumptuous system of radical defiance. Her current body of work investigates traditional needlework as a medium to bring advocacy for the decriminalization of sex work into a public forum. Sharing this dialog in such a labour-intensive and tactile way communicates the urgency of these issues, quietly and softly calling in the widest audience.