MOONSHOT
Mary Champagne, MFA 2026, Fibers & Material Studies
I am concerned with collective fiction and the tenuous ways we rationalize our own identities and orientations. A weaver in many sensibilities, my practice prioritizes material transmutation both on and off the loom, often leveraging the ‘conditional’ properties of a material when met with a catalytic force like water, gravity, or magnetism. I view both the potential energy housed in these interactions and the residues they leave behind as where my work lives. In weaving terms, I would call this space the ‘fell line.’ With deeply rooted archival research drawing upon such varied interests as Major League Baseball, dowsing and divination rituals, and Japanese American incarceration during WWII, the question driving my practice at the moment is: does it matter if something is ‘true,’ if its result is real?
"Spine" Installation View. Leather, silk, granite, steel, ball bearings, pine rosin, Darth Vader house key. ~42” ×10"×36" "Consider the Grip" Installation View. Steel, pine rosin, projector, It Happens Every Spring (1949), Throwing in Baseball via Encyclopedia Brittanica (1947), found moon cycle and wave form videos. ~24”×36"×24" Photo Credit: John Carlano
"Consider the Grip" (still) Steel, pine rosin, projector, It Happens Every Spring (1949), Throwing in Baseball via Encyclopedia Brittanica (1947), found moon cycle and wave form videos. ~24”×36"×24" Photo Credit: John Carlano
"That’s No Moon" (detail) Steel, pine rosin, Death Star temporary tattoo, used titanium magnet braided necklaces, stone. Dimensions variable. Photo Credit: John Carlano
"MOONSHOT" Installation View, Photo Credit: John Carlano
Untitled (Catfish Hunter) Leather, partial deadbolt lock, pine rosin. ~6”×9”×8" Photo Credit: John Carlano
Untitled (Battery) Installation View. Steel, Spider-Tack, bearing ball, gravity. ~4”×24"×5" "Sunk Cost" Installation View. Nylon, marble, steel. ~7”×102”×30" Photo Credit: John Carlano
"Sundial" (detail) Steel, pine rosin, nylon, mirrored plastic lawn ornament, disco ball motor. ~13”×13”×8" Photo Credit: John Carlano
"MOONSHOT" Installation View, Photo Credit: John Carlano
Untitled (Battery) Steel, Spider-Tack, bearing ball, gravity. ~4”×24”×5" Photo Credit: John Carlano
"MOONSHOT" Installation View, Photo Credit: John Carlano
"That’s No Moon" (detail) Steel, pine rosin, Death Star temporary tattoo, used titanium magnet braided necklaces, stone. Dimensions variable Photo Credit: John Carlano
Mary Champagne is materially-minded and currently based in Philadelphia, PA. She holds a BFA in Fiber from the Maryland Institute College of Art with concentrations in Creative Writing and Printmaking.
Website: maryjchampagne.com
Instagram: @maryjchampagne

