The Empathy Fortress

Julia Carp, The Empathy Fortress II, 2023

Yarn, PVC, Saxophone, Bass & Musicians, 6’x6’x6’

Julia Carp, The Empathy Fortress I, 2023

Yarn & PVC, 5’x5’x5’

Photography by Rosaline Dou

As seen in Uninhibited, School of Art + Art History + Design,

The University of Washington, 2023

As seen in (Re)collecting, Odegaard Undergraduate Library,

The University of Washington, 2023

Artist Statement:

The Empathy Fortress is a nomadic collection of architecture that creates space for rest and play in otherwise fast-paced environments. It was first modeled with wire, and then many months later the concept was manifested into multiple large scale, structurally sound, tactile yarn-wrapped cubes. The research and construction was centered around wishing to build a place for comfort and healing after many lonely years of quarantine. The modality of weaving represents the connectivity between people and places despite the separation of time and space. Ever since its fabrication, the Empathy Fortress has been traveling through exhibitions and around campus. Students, faculty, and visitors interact with one of five iterations by touching the fibers, sitting inside, listening to its music, wrapping a smaller cube themselves or by experimentally participating in any other form that feels right in that moment.

Thank you to the Mary Gates Research Endowment for sponsoring the Empathy Fortress, to Beau and Jake for activating the space with their beautiful improvisational jazz, to the people who helped install, and those who supported bringing this project into fruition conceptually.

Interview during The Undergraduate Research Symposium, Research Commons, Allen Library, the University of Washington, 2023

Carp 2023

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