Heather Schulte "Oh, Give Me a Home"

Oh, Give me a Home reflects conflicting ideas about home, comfort, security, and rest. This piece consists of a found memory foam mattress pad and zip ties, commonly observed in homes, dumped along the highway, or as part of an encampment. The diverse value of these materials, from useful to discarded to essential tools of life on the street highlight tensions between sentimental yearnings for the “virgin” West and the actual consequences of a couple centuries of Westward Expansion.

I chose to insert the zip ties into the grid of holes in the foam to mimic cross stitch embroidery, writing the phrase “HOME SWEET HOME” as a reference to samplers that have been commonly displayed in homes across the US, including my own childhood home when 1980s decor featured a nostalgic “country” aesthetic. Both this phrase and the title of the piece are derived from American folk songs that are infused with idealistic images of quaint cottages, homesteads, and rural landscapes, were popularized in the 1800s (in particular during the Civil War era), and evoke yearnings for a sense of place where one belongs. Belonging is a deeply human desire across cultures. At the same time, notions of home are often complicated by forces outside our control—where we are born, access to resources, and, often, violent histories buried just below the surface of a place.

The American West is just one of such places among many. As we reflect on our history and its impact on our shared spaces, take some time to consider: Whose “home” is this place, exactly? Who is comfortable enough to feel secure and find rest? And how do we care for this home in ways that are both honest about the past and sustain future communities in its ecosystem?