holding pattern
Anna Bockrath, MFA 2024, Fiber and Material Studies
The works in holding pattern reference objects such as nets, vessels, ladders, and portals – practical objects that are meant to capture, contain, or bridge distances. In my transformation of these objects, they fall short of usefulness and become impractical or imaginary. They straddle function and failure. I am interested in this in-betweenness as a place of possibility. How does failure lay the ground for new potential? How does loss make space for hope? Embracing simultaneity, these works hold space for multiple dualities – past/present, closeness/distance, presence/absence. They mark the tenuous threshold between no longer and not yet.
!["holding pattern" MFA thesis exhibition (installation view)
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/de7c7a8e-09c2-4a49-8641-ce4a4fc303aa/Bockrath_01.jpeg)
"holding pattern" MFA thesis exhibition (installation view) photo credit: Neighboring States
!["holding pattern" MFA thesis exhibition (installation view)
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/80c9c1ed-5275-4a39-b723-e3c66a75a153/Bockrath_02.jpeg)
"holding pattern" MFA thesis exhibition (installation view) photo credit: Neighboring States
!["holding pattern" MFA thesis exhibition (installation view)
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/c39cab68-4187-4d22-9b09-31a0af74cda2/Bockrath_03.jpeg)
"holding pattern" MFA thesis exhibition (installation view) photo credit: Neighboring States
!["notion (to dig in the earth in search of the sky)"
screen print, handwoven cotton and nylon, 2024,
dimensions variable
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/6ee33900-27e5-4c7e-92c3-6d9161bf0f94/Bockrath_04.jpeg)
"notion (to dig in the earth in search of the sky)" screen print, handwoven cotton and nylon, 2024, dimensions variable photo credit: Neighboring States
!["blush"
paper, spray paint. 2024
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/b7344cb8-a9ac-47f1-be94-5ea1174387cc/Bockrath_05.jpeg)
"blush" paper, spray paint. 2024 photo credit: Neighboring States
!["days go" (detail)
screen printed photograph, handwoven cotton and silk. 2024
dimensions variable
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/9fa76594-ba02-468e-88ed-6fc89f70c5eb/Bockrath_06.jpeg)
"days go" (detail) screen printed photograph, handwoven cotton and silk. 2024 dimensions variable photo credit: Neighboring States
!["the way back"
handwoven cotton, dye, wood, 2024
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/63b687a6-d35a-4912-a6ef-a22cf936be4c/Bockrath_07.jpeg)
"the way back" handwoven cotton, dye, wood, 2024 photo credit: Neighboring States
!["passage" (installation view)
screen printed photograph on cotton twill tape. 2024
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/f89cd6fe-3424-4722-bd31-a4345933089a/Bockrath_08.jpeg)
"passage" (installation view) screen printed photograph on cotton twill tape. 2024 photo credit: Neighboring States
!["passage" (detail)
screen printed photograph on cotton twill tape. 2024
14’ x 10’ x 8’
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/07cc8225-9207-4bb8-9467-5de748b829ae/Bockrath_09.jpeg)
"passage" (detail) screen printed photograph on cotton twill tape. 2024 14’ x 10’ x 8’ photo credit: Neighboring States
!["the way back" (detail)
handwoven cotton, dye, wood, 2024
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/faf9470c-a8df-40e0-9991-981c9c23bd2a/Bockrath_10.jpeg)
"the way back" (detail) handwoven cotton, dye, wood, 2024 photo credit: Neighboring States
!["held"
screen printed photograph on cotton twill tape,
2024
photo credit: Neighboring States](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/f51527f5-cf7f-474b-a745-68f68506df61/Bockrath_11.jpeg)
"held" screen printed photograph on cotton twill tape, 2024 photo credit: Neighboring States
!["leap"
screen print on paper, handwoven,
2023
photo credit: Jacob Weinberg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/9a2431b3-eb3f-45bb-a462-8a79d21c25ed/Bockrath_12.jpg)
"leap" screen print on paper, handwoven, 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinberg
!["pull"
screen print on paper, handwoven,
2023
photo credit: Jacob Weinberg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/8500e69d-1916-498f-880d-1acfd012479f/Bockrath_13.jpg)
"pull" screen print on paper, handwoven, 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinberg
"gossamer" paper yarn, nylon, stones, dimensions variable 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinberg
!["gossamer" (detail)
paper yarn, nylon, stones,
dimensions variable
2023
photo credit: Jacob Weinberg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/ee0247e7-d612-42d5-93ed-4c1caa4e0fcb/Bockrath_15.jpg)
"gossamer" (detail) paper yarn, nylon, stones, dimensions variable 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinberg
!["curl"
paper, linen, watercolor, ink, dye,
2023
photo credit: Jacob Weinberg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/5ccaed99-314a-4d7e-8986-64ae193ab7c9/Bockrath_16.jpg)
"curl" paper, linen, watercolor, ink, dye, 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinberg
!["curl" (detail)
paper, linen, watercolor, ink, dye,
2023
photo credit: Jacob Weinberg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/11ec41a7-4bb5-4756-87d5-21ed86e51f9d/Bockrath_17.jpg)
"curl" (detail) paper, linen, watercolor, ink, dye, 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinberg
!["warp/weight"
screen print, cotton, nylon, stones,
dimensions variable
2023
photo credit: Jacob Weinberg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/f8830ae9-05fa-4e8d-87e8-e7f0600f68d4/Bockrath_18.jpg)
"warp/weight" screen print, cotton, nylon, stones, dimensions variable 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinberg
"warp/weight" (detail) screen print, cotton, nylon, stones, dimensions variable 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinberg
!["and/or"
screen print, silk, organza, cotton, thread,
2023
photo credit: Jacob Weinburg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/5af871f1-9bf8-4f11-9f81-c889fe978f44/Bockrath_20.jpg)
"and/or" screen print, silk, organza, cotton, thread, 2023 photo credit: Jacob Weinburg
Anna Bockrath
Anna Bockrath (b. 1994) is an artist and educator based in Philadelphia. She earned a BS in Art Education and a MFA in Fibers and Material Studies from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Her interdisciplinary studio practice combines weaving, silkscreen printing, and sculpture to explore themes such as loss, care, and time.
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Website: annabockrath.com
Instagram:@anna_bockrath