Portfolio > The Great Basin Murders

Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Starr Valley Jane Doe
Handwoven cotton
62" X 22"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, Starr Valley Jane Doe, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative
Handwoven cotton
62" X 22"
2017
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Starr Valley Jane Doe
Handwoven cotton
62" X 22"
2017
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Devil's Gate Jane Doe
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, portion of acrylic sweater
65" X 22"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Devil’s Gate Jane Doe
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, portion of acrylic sweater
65" X 22"
July 26, 2018
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Devil’s Gate Jane Doe
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, portion of acrylic sweater
65" X 22"
July 26, 2018
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Thousand Springs Jane Doe
Handwoven cotton, found, burnt clothing
65" X 22"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Thousand Springs Jane Doe
Handwoven cotton, found, burnt clothing
65" X 22"
November 21, 2018
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Thousand Springs Jane Doe
Handwoven cotton, found, burnt clothing
65" X 22"
November 18, 2018
A Shroud for Cora Carrillo
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, embroidery, chain
2021
A Shroud for Cora Carrillo
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, embroidery, chain
44" X 54" X 3"
2021
A Shroud for Cora Carrillo
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, embroidery, chain
44" X 54" X 3"
2021
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Unidentified Person 7519, West Wendover Cold Case
Handwoven cotton and pantsuit
65” X 24” X 3”
2023
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Unidentified Person 7519, West Wendover Cold Case
Handwoven cotton and pantsuit
65” X 24” X 3”
2022
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Nevada cold case, Unidentified Person 7519, West Wendover Cold Case
Handwoven cotton and pantsuit
65” X 24” X 3”
2022
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Utah cold case, Ermelinda Garza
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton
2023
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Utah cold case, Ermelinda Garza
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton
44" X 50" X 3"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Utah cold case, Ermelinda Garza
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton
44" X 50" X 3"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Wyoming cold case, Bitter Creek Betty
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, handwoven sweatpants, embroidery, found jewelry, panties
87" X 23" X 7"
2022
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Wyoming cold case, Bitter Creek Betty
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, handwoven sweatpants, embroidery, found jewelry, panties
87" X 23" X 7"
February 24, 2018
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Wyoming cold case, Bitter Creek Betty
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, handwoven sweatpants, embroidery, found jewelry, panties
87" X 23" X 7"
February 24, 2018
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, I-90 Jane Doe, Sheridan Jane Doe, Wyoming Cold Case
Handwoven cotton, handwoven blouse, found clothing and jewelry
84" X 22"
2022
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, I-90 Jane Doe, Sheridan Jane Doe, Wyoming Cold Case
Handwoven cotton, handwoven blouse, found clothing and jewelry
84" X 22"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, I-90 Jane Doe, Sheridan Jane Doe, Wyoming Cold Case
Handwoven cotton, handwoven blouse, found clothing and jewelry
84" X 22"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Shafter Jane Doe, Nevada Cold Case
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton
67" X 22"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Shafter Jane Doe, Nevada Cold Case
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton
67" X 22"
2017
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, Jane Doe, unidentified human remains, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Shafter Jane Doe, Nevada Cold Case
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton
67" X 22"
2017
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Tina Snell, Tina Cheri Snell, Cindy Marie Souza, Blue Lake Nevada, Nevada Cold Case
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, polyester
44" X 54" X 3"
2021
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Tina Snell, Tina Cheri Snell, Cindy Marie Souza, Blue Lake Nevada, Nevada Cold Case
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, polyester
44" X 54" X 3"
2021
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Tina Snell, Tina Cheri Snell, Cindy Marie Souza, Blue Lake Nevada, Nevada Cold Case
Hand-dyed, handwoven cotton, polyester
44" X 54" X 3"
2021
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Tonya Teske, Tonya Kay Teske, Idaho Cold Case
Discharged, handwoven cotton and nylon, freshwater pearls
2021
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Tonya Teske, Tonya Kay Teske, Idaho Cold Case
Handwoven cotton and nylon, bleaching, freshwater pearls
44" X 54" X 3"
2020
Handwoven cotton, burial shroud, cold case, handweaving, twill derivative, unsolved homicide, Tonya Teske, Tonya Kay Teske, Idaho Cold Case
Handwoven cotton and nylon, bleaching, freshwater pearls
44" X 54" X 3"
2020

Funded in part with grants from the Alexa Rose Foundation, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, and the Boise State University College of Arts and Sciences.

The Great Basin Murders is a collaborative series commemorating victims of unsolved homicides in the Mountain West with handwoven burial shrouds and site-specific photography. I am drawn to this phenomenon of women’s bodies found at remote sites because of how harsh, vast, and desolate these locations are. Imagining a body left out in the open landscape for months or years compels me to handweave shrouds to metaphorically protect the victims.

I develop structural weaving patterns from data about each victim including height, weight and age estimates, the date when they were was found, and the GPS coordinates of where they were found. I incorporate details through traditional textile processes rendering tattoos with embroidery, appliquéing clothing remnants, and embellishing with found jewelry. While the shrouds commemorating unidentified victims are an attempt to broach the anonymity through devotional craft, the resulting woven panels remain visually austere illustrating the absence of information that characterizes many cold cases. I weave shrouds to commemorate victims who were identified, although their cases are unsolved by creating weaving patterns based on their dates of birth and death and using colors and embellishment specific to details about the women’s lives. By weaving these shrouds, I seek to give each victim a gesture of respect not previously afforded to them.

I collaborate with Carrie Quinney who documents the shrouds at the site where each victim was found, stylistically bridging crime scene documentation and landscape photography. These images position the shrouds as bodies, contextualizing the series in art historical movements considering violence against women, all against the backdrop of the foreboding and desolate Western landscape.