SpinCycle, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021.

SpinCycle is a physical, social and artistic framework created to encourage trust, collaboration and honest storytelling. It uses the premise that people are more willing to be open when we are actively engaged in some form of physical labour – in this case pedaling a stationary bicycle and using a spinning wheel to create yarn. 

The bicycle is set up on a training stand so it becomes stationary. The drive band of my spinning wheel is connected to the rear wheel of the bicycle so that the person pedaling the bike activates the wheel. I sit at my spinning wheel to do the handwork with the wool as it is spun by the person pedalling the bike. Since this set-up means that we cannot look at each other directly, a mirror is set on the ground which allows the pedaler to see my face and I can see their face but we cannot see our own faces. Together, we work to spin wool into yarn as the pedaler tells a story into the shared mirror. 

SpinCycle was originally presented as part of First Saturday at The Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, NY) in 2016. It also has had iterations as part of A Fierce Heart is a Tender Heart (solo exhibition, Northern University, Aberdeen, SD), Inverness Centre for Art (group exhibition, Inverness, NS), and the Hold Fast Festival (St. John’s, NL).