Made in response to the exhibition theme, this piece provides the wearer ready access to tissues – a tissue when you need it.
The vintage floral fabric mimics both the modern American floral tissue box (standard grocery store issue) and the delicacies of vintage handkerchiefs, with crochet edges and delicate floral patterning.
Tissues are themselves fragile – easily broken, easily torn.
As a container for the tissues, this brooch provides a soft protected space to house each fragile tissue – honoring their role in our own fragility. When we are broken, hurt, or torn, the tissue is available to not protect or transform our fragility, but to accompany it – to accompany us, as we lean into our fragile state.