07/25/2026
The Things We Inherit (2026)
Artist Robin Wilson
Mixed media textile collage
5 Ă— 7 inches
Constructed from mug cloth, gold silk taffeta, reclaimed cotton print fabric, a vintage found photograph, thread, and a jeweled button.
The central X was created during the creation of Bloodline (2024), a fiber installation exhibited as part of Environments and Microclimates during Detroit Month of Design. While it was prepared for that work, it remained unused. Rather than being discarded, it has been carried forward into this piece, where it takes on new life.
Working with remnants has become an important part of this body of work. Rather than discarding materials left from larger pieces, they are carried forward into new compositions, allowing each work to inherit the physical history of those that came before it.
The intentionally frayed edges, uneven cuts, and visible hand stitching are not imperfections—they are evidence of process. They reflect the way memory is often experienced: rarely linear, sometimes fragmented, preserving some details while allowing others to fade. We don't always remember the past in the same way, even when we've lived the same moments. Like memory itself, these materials hold traces, fragments, and stories that continue to evolve.
The Things We Inherit asks what remains after time has passed, and how those remnants continue to shape us.
What is something you've inherited—not necessarily an object, but a story, a tradition, a way of seeing the world, or even a family memory—that continues to live through you today?
