I’ve been holding onto a few pairs of jeans for the past two and a half decades. They are covered in imagery that spoke to me as a younger human. I wore them often in my teens and early 20s, every patch and mend a symbol of sartorial defiance. When an exhibit titled Blue came up, I decided to cut and reorganize this vintage denim into an artist's book. There were unexpected emotions as I mended holes, embroidered around existing images and remembered my teenage self. Hot Pants embodies the techniques and aesthetics of visible mending, relevant both then and now.

I am not what I wear, and my wardrobe also plays a part in my identity, socioeconomic status, consumer choices and values. In electing to mend my clothes, I acknowledge the long process that goes into a garment’s manufacture. Cotton seeds were planted, grown, harvested, cleaned, spun, dyed, woven and eventually became a pair of jeans. Human hands and hearts were involved in every step to get to the finished product. And while I was not thinking about that then, I am thinking about it now. Twenty-five years later I am finding that mending and making still quietly weaves the threads of defiance, hope, and change.