Decomposition. Re-Composition.
My work is a vehicle of translation; a physical language structured with materiality and memory. The physical communion of touch needed to build my pieces, mitigates my thoughts through the visceral process of creation. This dialogue of method parallels the relationship of the two sculptural forms.
Mounted on worn wooden shoulders, two faces turn away from each other, distant yet engaged. The figures act as totems of my inner and outer self, my past and my present, and my relationships with those close to me. My/Our thoughts bridge from one mind space to the other, on a fluid pathway of communication, growth, and time.
The external surface of the faces speak to a faux serenity, as a social simulation of identity. The faces are grounded in the age lines of the trunk body. My consciousness radially develops in layers from the center of the figure, outward. What I hold deep inside me is nurtured, compacted, and eventually overlooked.
Hidden in trunk’s body are enshrining niches, like sanctuary scars. The reliquaries are physical remains of my past, a trigger of sensation. Although the objects are seemingly recognizable, their true meaning remains deeply personal and elusive.
Clay is physically intimate for me, helping me to focus and take hold of my senses. I act in reaction to the material and the qualities that the terra cotta possesses. In this way, my sculptures hint at natural forms and objects. Even though, they are stationary objects, one could imagine them interacting in the environment; captured in a moment of growth or destruction.
The images reflect my memories, emotions, and the natural world in a nostalgic way. Each work touches upon a feeling of age and memory, bringing to mind a story or dream.
Featured in the the Tales from the Gut Show at Post-Cubicle Gallery. Sold.
My anxiety is a friendly beast. My anxiety worries me into planning, preparing, and going the extra mile. My anxiety also worries me into panic, over-thinking, and self-deprecation. I measure my value based on how much I complete and how much effort I put into things, people, and tasks. This makes me a honorable, productive citizen of society. But who am I when I am by myself?
Featured in the YAWW Alumni Show, August 2014.
Delicacy of movement contrasts aggressive form in this sculpture. The steel circles around each other in a whirlwind motion. The sculpture protects itself, while lashing out in dimension, representing the duality of nature.
Fiber connects to the relationship of work and the worker. Through time and repetition, I created and installed raffia fiber visually to mimic my process. Raffia fiber originally was gathered freely and purposed for baskets and other household items in Madagascar. Now, one can order the fiber online for gift wrapping and seemingly mundane and detached activities. I wanted to give life back to the fiber through interdependent knots. The installation resembles a hammock or cocoon, but has sharp points and wild growths. In reaction to our present day globalization of the environment, the raffia symbolizes natures conflicting response.
While studying abroad in Venice, Italy, I took a glassblowing class on the island of Murano.
My photographs act as flattened versions of my 3 dimensional experiences of the world. I play with the idea of presence and lack of presence of the body.
