Holly Streekstra

Idioms

Idioms
set of 7 cut vinyl shades hung in in the Nurses' Cottage at Fergus Falls State Hospital, Fergus Falls, MN

While in residence at Springboard for the Art’s Hinge program at the historic Fergus Falls State Mental Hospital, this site-specific installation in the Nurses' Cottage responded to the building’s dramatic deterioration. Roller shades hung in existing window fixtures featured idioms representing mental and emotional states that also directly describe the state of the rooms. The idioms are: distressed, warped, off the wall, cracked, flake, nothing upstairs, coming apart at the seams, and down in the dumps.