Mahwish Chisty

From May 18 to June 20, 2026, artist Mahwish Chishty will be at OOO to develop a new body of work called Wounds We Wear.

Wounds We Wear asks viewers and participants to consider their relationship to U.S. war technology and its current wars, including by designing and/or embroidering patches. Chishty will incorporate these collectively-made patches into the installation at the center of her fall 2026 solo exhibition at the Herter Art Gallery at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

PUBLIC EVENTS

Embroidery/Sewing Circles: May 29-June 1, 2026, Time TBA.

Come work alongside Chishty and embroider patches that will become part of Wounds We Wear. You are welcome to come for one or multiple sessions. Experience in embroidery is encouraged but not necessary to participate.

Open Studio: Saturday, May 30, 2026, 4-6 PM. 

Stop by anytime during the open studio to meet the artist and see Wounds We Wear in process.

SITE NOTE

OOO’s entrance is located at the top of four stairs without a railing. There is no restroom. There is no heating or cooling. 

ARTIST STATEMENT

Wounds We Wear is a collaborative, community-based project exploring the emotional and societal impact of modern warfare in the U.S. Centered around the question, “How do you feel about the current wars?” the project invites participants to express their responses through symbolic visual designs. These are transformed into embroidered patches and sewn onto a repurposed Vietnam War-era U.S. Air Force uniform, forming a collective portrait of our psychological landscape amid ongoing and remote conflicts.

The project considers the body as a site where identity is both inscribed and suppressed. In military contexts, tattoos, as intimate markers of memory and selfhood, are often concealed beneath the uniform. This work reverses that erasure by translating hidden narratives into hand embroidered patches, making them visible on the surface of the uniform. These stitched forms act as counter insignia, revealing layered identities that resist standardization.

To bridge the distance between distant wars and everyday American life, I collaborate with community members of all ages and backgrounds, who embroider the designs alongside me, deepening connection through shared labor. The final installation centers dialogue and collective reflection, and will be presented at the Herter Art Gallery, extending the conversation to participants and their communities.