Barbara McCaffrey presents
​Persistence of Memory

At the Chapel Gallery, St Matthias, 600 Richmond Avenue, Victoria
​September 17 - October 3, 2021

Detail: Imprints by Barbara McCaffrey, 2020. Photo: Terry Zlot

Barbara McCaffrey is a conceptual artist who uses fibre arts to express her ideas and experiences. She skillfully manipulates the materials at hand. For example, Now we are Six re-imagines a family keepsake: two tattered Montreal Star newspapers, circa 1945. Through an act of creative wizardry, McCaffrey manages to transform this ragged pile of newsprint into a reversible child’s dress. The 1945 newspapers record a momentous event, the end of World War Two. The artist, born in Montreal, turned six in 1945. This touching tribute to her younger self resonates with bitter-sweet nostalgia.

​McCaffrey looked back over twenty years of artmaking while planning Persistence of Memory. She realized that some events remained fleeting memories, while others left a deep impression. “I am aware of the weight and power of memories,” she says. “I strive to make the invisible, visible through the narrative in my work.” Her artistic process may be sparked by a word or idea that percolates over time. Thumbnails may go through several incarnations before becoming finished works. Curator Mary-ellen Threadkell describes McCaffrey’s artworks ​as multi-faceted and exquisitely realized. “Barbara is authentic in her vision,” says the curator, “and finds unique ways to express her chronology through this exhibition.”

Now We Are Six (after A A Milne 1927), photos from 1945 newspaper printed on cotton inkjet fabric sheets, sheets fused to cloth, hand-sewn dress, 18 x 24 in, 2021.

The Montreal Daily Star, dated May 7, 1945 and August 15, 1945 (From personal collection)

​In 2000, the artist visited the site of the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima Japan. “Visiting the memorial site left me in tears,” she says. “I was shocked by the devastation caused by this act of violence.” In contrast, Hiroshima is a serenely meditative artwork, that shows the hours on the clock as small boxes with Shibori dyeing. The box marking the hour of the blast remains blank.
The artist uses colours and textures to relay the course of events. Pristine white silk at the top changes to crumpled blue fabric below. Small smooth stones attached to the dark blue cloth suggest rubble.

​December 6 1989 commemoratives the tragic shooting of 14 female engineering students at Concordia University in Montreal. At the time, McCaffrey was a student at the Alberta University of the Arts. “The dashed hopes and dreams of these 14 women resonated with me in a powerful way,” she recalls. The artist placed 14 brilliant crimson silk squares on a sombre background. The silk squares are unattached at the bottom to allow them to flutter in a passing breeze.

Hiroshima, mixed media (Japanese Shibori on wood blocks) stitching, stones on cloth mounted on stretched canvas, 30 x 24 in, 2006. Photo: Terry Zlot

December 6 1989, fibreglass screening, newsprint, silk, rebar, 60x40 in, 1991. Photo: Terry Zlot

French Lessons, Map of France on cradleboard, antique French dictionary, felt, embroidery, 10x8 in, 2021.

Armor/Amour, wool fragment, linen, buttons, keys. 22 x 28 in, 2008. Photo: Terry Zlot

​McCaffrey holds a 4-year Diploma in Textiles (with Distinction) and a BFA. “Being a mixed-media artist gives me the freedom to embrace various techniques,” she says. She exhibits annually with the Vancouver Island Surface Design Group. Her original ideas and technical excellence make her a regular recipient of Juror’s Choice Awards at local Fine Arts shows. The artist is always on the lookout for interesting objects she can use as “drawing tools” for her constructions.

​Crack in Everything has floral shapes made from biscuit joiners, a tool used in woodworking that has nothing to do with baking. McCaffrey used a bandsaw to slice two by four’s into one quarter inch squares. When drying the thin wooden squares in the oven, they cracked. Undeterred, the artist used the cracks in her over all design, made to symbolize a stained glass window. The design is placed on hand-make felt, which radiates a mysterious mix of maroon hues.

There’s a Crack In Everything,  handmade felt, wooden slices, biscuit joiners, 32x32 in, 2021.Photo: Terry Zlot

Detail:There’s a Crack In Everything,  Handmade felt, wooden slices, biscuit joiners, 32x32 in, 2021.Photo: Terry Zlot

Persistence of Memory spotlights family history. If Walls Could Speak and Imprints are two artworks that recall connections with Ireland. In 1929, McCaffrey’s mother left the family farm near Ballycastle, a village in Northern Ireland. The family settled in Montreal during the depression. “This must have been a big adjustment,” says the artist, “but mom spoke little about her experiences.” Finally, McCaffrey convinced her mother to write a journal, which revealed a wealth of family stories.

​The background of If Walls Could Speak is a photo taken in Ireland. The wall’s brilliant yellow lichen and time-worn textures caught McCaffrey’s attention. “It’s used as a visual backdrop because it reflects the hard times people endured,” she says. The photo is reproduced on cloth and stretched on canvas. The unknown details of the journey and emotional impact of dislocation are hinted at in the ghostly figures, numbers and question mark. The ten stones sewn onto the fabric represent the ten holiday cottages built later on the family farm. In 2019 Barbara took a course in Ballycastle, and ended up in one of those same cottages.

If Walls Could Speak, mixed media on stretched canvas, (photo, drawing, stones, wax linen thread) 30x49 in, 2020. Photo: Terry Zlot

Imprints, mixed media on stretched canvas, photograph on cloth, lace, drawing and screen printing, 30x40 in, 2020. Photo: Terry Zlot

Imprints has the same cloth background as If Walls Could Speak. An overgrown window in a deserted Irish cottage adds a poignant reminder of poverty and loss. Irish lace is attached as well as a drawing of the artist’s hands. The hands are reaching but not connected, suggesting unresolved sectarian tensions in Ireland. An enlarged screen-printed fingerprint adds a dramatic human touch. Imprints demonstrates McCaffrey’s confident use of multi-media for story-telling. Her visual narrations evoke powerful impressions by balancing shape, colour, texture and linework. These configurations invite our careful observation and induce introspection. McCaffrey has brought a lifetime of skills and experience to this remarkable exhibition. Don’t miss it at the Chapel Gallery.

Chapel Gallery, 600 Richmond Avenue, Victoria, British Columbia V8S 3Y7

​Please note the Provincial COVID-19 health measures are in effect. Masks are required in the Chapel Gallery. Kindly present your BC Vaccine Card and valid government ID before entering. 

Barbara welcomes your interest and can be reached at: ​[email protected]

Barbara McCaffrey in her home studio in August, 2021

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History in Art degree and Public Relations certificate from 
​the University of Victoria
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