March is pleased to present Side by side, the first New York solo exhibition of Mississippi-based artist Coulter Fussell. Known for her quilted assemblages of found materials, this new body of work introduces recycled images alongside textiles. Beginning as screenshots of Snapchats from the artist’s children, the works form as Fussell prints frozen images onto chiffon and sews them in place. Combined with found textiles, the final tableaux echo traditional quilts while memorializing the fleeting photos that constantly pass to and from our devices, commentaries on information velocity, waste and reuse, and communication.

Every year, over ninety million tons of textile waste is produced globally. Every minute, more than 2.4 million photos and videos are sent on Snapchat, designed to disappear seconds later. Excess abounds, and few things are built to last. Yet in Fussell’s work, what would usually be discarded is rescued and weighed. Snaps from her children’s adventures are cropped and arranged to reflect essential moments, never edited or otherwise “tuned”. She cites her kids as “open collaborators”, generous and flexible with the imagery they provide. Even in the age of the iPhone, fireworks, cannonball splashes, and sunsets are among the subjects that capture their attention and inspire the urge to share and connect.

A fourth–– or perhaps even fifth–– generation quilter, Fussell’s practice is anchored in confident muscle memory. A constant student of human and textile histories, her methods are informed by archives, traditions, and global aesthetics. Though the works of Side by side are unmistakably contemporary, they possess the same requisite three layers of a customary quilt. An elegant solution to the question of leftovers and scraps, quilting offers new purpose to otherwise discarded materials. Here, plywood is upholstered and layered with polyester, a vibrant ground for the chiffon prints to be stretched on top. Color palettes range from milky to psychedelic, responses to the ephemerality of Fussell’s subjects.

If you’re lucky, these images of childhood and adolescence may appear familiar to you. Hill country blanketed with golden green foliage and bordered by lakes, photos of Yalobusha County, Mississippi reflect a way of life that feels ever more elusive, particularly for those who find themselves looking through a screen far more than anywhere else. We glimpse long summer days, racing through the woods and splashing in lakes, breathing the smell of dry grass baking in the last of the sun’s rays, and driving down a cooled backroad at night. Fussell’s work records those things that merit the camera’s gaze, however fleeting, preserving them for just a little while longer.