Victoria Knipp’s work explores the dilemma that Appalachian people face when dealing with decolonization. Appalachia has been utilized for its resources and people for several decades; from coal to steel, industry has settled comfortably in a place where people value hard work.

Working with traditional Appalachian materials and techniques such as crocheted yarn, sewn fabric, and cardboard moving boxes, her work forms an environment where tradition collides with impermanence in a materialization of a cultural phenomenon.

Her goal is to connect the viewer to the quandary of the Appalachian person. Industrialization has been existing as a tradition within Appalachian culture, but deindustrialization has struck the region. Now the question is, do the people fight for or against it?

View Knipp’s work in our virtual art gallery at https://www.ohio.edu/southern/artgallery