Cultivating these elevated states and happy hormones is a political and personal weapon for Friedman that serves as barrier against indulging in despair. The work presented in tomorrow is just a thought explores the relationship between mind and body, considering the effects brain chemistry has on creating elevated emotional states and utilizing color, fiber, language, and abstract gestures to activate chemicals like Serotonin, Endorphins, Dopamine, and Oxytocin. If tomorrow is just a thought, then Friedman encourages viewers to ask themselves ‘what can go right?’ instead of considering what will go wrong. Neuroplasticity and the brain’s ability to repair neural pathways has informed Friedman’s work. The human brain is wired for negativity and catastrophe, with our fight or flight responses being our first reaction to anxiety. Seeing the act of weaving as a unification of warp and weft – or left and right brain – Friedman attempts to weave new neural pathways on her loom and in her brain, combatting a climate of anxiety and instability with fiber.

Terri Friedman’s work responds to internal and external uncertainty through woven tapestries. tomorrow is just a thought will be on view from September 23 through November 22, 2023, with an opening reception on Saturday, September 23 from 4-6 PM. Shoshana Wayne Gallery is pleased to announce tomorrow is just a thought, Terri Friedman’s third solo exhibition with the gallery.