Last Night I Dreamt Infinite Woods
Fairah Bensen
I am an interdisciplinary artist specializing in fabric-based sculptures that utilize silkscreen and linoleum block printing, beadwork, and embroidery. My practice is informed by ideas surrounding the feminine experience, the body, and gender identity.
My current body of work investigates personal experiences within gender, sexuality, and puberty, using symbolism and archetypal characters. Informed by my upbringing on Quadra Island and the surrounding Gulf Islands of Vancouver Island, I draw inspiration from plants and animals native to this area that hold significance in my life, such as ravens, deer, Roosevelt elk, and grey wolves. The species of coniferous trees found in the old-growth forests of Quadra Island play a significant inspirational role in creating the complex images of dense forests in my work, such as in Dreamwalker (2026).
Dream Walker, 2026. Silkscreen design printed on cotton fabric, dead stock lace, vintage cotton thread, glass beads, and a magnolia branch. 25″ x 18″.
Old-growth trees have a powerful symbolic presence within my dreams. They are resilient but not indestructible, and easily blend into the background in the vast expanse of Quadra’s woodlands. But if you look closer, there is majesty and mystical power to behold. I record these dreams shortly after waking, and turn to them often in my practice, investigating the symbolism behind which trees, plants, and animals appear. Over time, I have come to realize how my dreams strongly reflect my lived experiences with being constricted by a gendered, binary body. My goal is to display the subconscious, creating a visual universe of my own psyche, exploring ideas of expression and selfhood.
Night Bitch, 2026. Silkscreen design printed on cotton fabric, dead stock lace, vintage cotton thread, and glass beads. 15 1/2″ x 19 1/2″.
The animals found within my work are often anthropomorphic, aiming to embody the feeling of being stuck in the transition from girlhood and womanhood. They serve as an alternative representation of my body. Bodies are strange and imperfect, constantly shifting, and are often depicted in mass media as binary, clean, and uncomplicated. In gender and the body, transformation, fluidity, and “abnormality” are often obscured or sensationalized. I am concerned with addressing my body as multifaceted and fluid, outside of the rigid ideals set by Western body standards, Eurocentric art traditions, and the gender that I was assigned at birth. My work aims to deconstruct traditional gender roles and create something more unusual and more free, questioning and fantasizing about a better life for an identity that has been overlooked. I invite my audience to feel, slow down, and take time to look closely.
My research is paired with traditional quilting, beadwork, and embroidery techniques, bringing craft into a fine arts space by reappropriating a traditionally feminine hobby. Within the world of fine arts, craft is oftentimes considered to be women’s work, associated with weakness and delicateness. Art practices within fibre arts and textiles have been regarded as unnecessary and decorative, leading to them being undervalued as a result. My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all dabbled in sewing, whether it be tailoring, quilting, or crafting. This knowledge has been passed from mother to daughter through generations, existing outside of the gatekeeping structures of art academies. By meticulously sourcing materials associated with quilting and dressmaking, such as ribbon, lace, and beads, I am constantly pursuing new ways to bring craft into the male-dominated sphere of fine arts.
My website
https://fairahbensen71-rthjv.wordpress.com/
Release Granted
