Torn II, Heather Huston
A black and white texture of tree-leaf shadows is split on the left into a silhouette of a hand with a boutonniere deformity sitting in front of a gridded paper texture. Behind the hand and below the hand is a faded pink hand displaying ulnar drift with only part of the fingers visible. Another portion of a gridded paper is seemingly collaged on the top right.
Title: Torn II
Artist: Heather Huston
Date: 2026
Medium/Materials: Silkscreen on paper
Dimensions: 76 cm x 56 cm
Form/Genre: Print
Key Terms/Subject/Tags: Arthritis; Disability; Patient narrative; Chronic illness
Artist Statement:
While much of our knowledge of illness is framed through the biomedical context, Heather Huston work centers affect and the performance of daily life as significant sites of meaning for understanding chronic illness. As such, her works are connected to both the Embodied States and Reclaiming Patient Narrative thematic categories. Her own experiences with autoimmune disorders have served as a catalyst for creating works that explore and deepen our understanding of life lived with illness. In her words, Huston’s body is the site of a sort of slow disaster, an evolving and unnerving landscape of misbehaving systems.
Huston is interested in the metaphorical relationship between paper and skin, as well as evoking paper surfaces and gowns in medical offices. Paper also references the thin separation between interior sensations of the body and the external presentation. Pain and stiffness pull her focus from the practice of daily life into a contemplation of her body. She is always aware of my body and its constantly changing state, her hands the most visibly and functionally affected. The repetition of shapes, motifs, and images is echoed by the repetition that is inherent to print as well as the routines of daily life.
Cultural Context / Story Behind the Work:
This piece is a reflection on the various deformities in Huston’s hand caused by inflammatory arthritis.
Rights for this Image:
This digital image is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. You are free to share it for non-commercial purposes, as long as you credit the artist.
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Instagram: @printerbird