Alexa Wheeler: kept + carried

"kept + carried" examines how care is inherited, performed, and remembered through the ordinary objects and rituals of domestic life. Drawing from family photographs, German folk traditions, household vessels, and stories gathered through community participation, the work considers the labor historically assigned to women: preserving, nourishing, mending, witnessing, and carrying memory forward. Layered textiles, translucent surfaces, printmaking, embroidery, sewing, and found materials function as an evolving archive where personal histories intersect with collective experience. Architectural forms, fences, jars, utensils, and suspended threads become metaphors for protection, containment, connection, and resilience. Audio recordings gathered through witness extend the work beyond the gallery, inviting visitors to contribute their own stories. Together, these works ask how acts of care become records of belonging that endure across generations.