Family Quilt is the first print-assemblage in what became the Identity Series, a body of work that marks the changes, overlaps, and transformations of identity that occur in the life of the family. The series functions as an abstracted idea of portraiture, taking as its formal basis one fingerprint of each member of our family. Printed individually, the fingerprints highlight unique genetic qualities; when layered, they can speak to the temporary masking of identity that occurs in the position of motherhood. In hand-stitched print blankets, issues of genetic difference overlap, literally and metaphorically, with larger implications of family position—individuality alongside and within familial identity.
Rachel Epp Buller Family Quilt 2008 linoleum block prints with hand-stitching 36 x 48 inches.