Artist's
Statement
Blood, scars,
voice, breath, transparency and light: these are some of the things I've
explored in my quest to express humanity's complex beauty. I want no less
than to heal and be healed, to connect with the depths of myself, to tell
my story as I see fit, to cultivate my empathy and awareness, and to inspire
the same in people who experience my art.
I make artwork
that makes the life I want. Rather than engaging in an isolated process,
I am emotionally connected to the people around me. For example, with
The Scar Project, I asked 100 women to tell me about their physical scars:
when, where, and how they got them. The Scar Project manifested as layered
planes of plexiglass with sculptural, drawn, and text elements. Headphones
playing the recorded story of the woman depicted accompany the sculptures.
Also for this body of work, I worked closely with my grandmothers to create
projection works, representing their life stories through their scars.
For another project, I held a series of dinner parties and asked people
to share their stories about blood with me. I allowed those stories to
guide me to the artworks.
Both the process
and the artwork validate and celebrate our experiences of ourselves through
video, drawing, sculpture, animation, installation and sound. Even when
I am not directly bearing witness to people's stories, I create the conditions
for transformative experience. For example, the Breathing Drawings are
slowly morphing images that exist like paintings in a space, and inspire
poetic awareness of our own mysterious depths.
Transformations:
figures filling with red, emptying of blue, slowly being infused with
light, becoming transparent; glasses filling and emptying; a delicately
rendered ribcage expanding and contracting. The images melt at the pace
of heartbeat or breath.
Though I have
utilized the techniques of animation, the breathing drawings function
more like paintings. The Breathing Drawings have no demanding narratives,
but instead depict slow, deliberate actions and are objects of gentle
contemplation and quiet poetic resonance.
Trauma, birth,
family, mortality, sex, vulnerability, viscosity, disease: I set out to
explore the powerful cultural meanings of blood following the events of
September 11, 2001, when everyone I know rushed to donate blood. I often
start with gathering stories in order to gain insight about a topic that
interests me. In this case, I held a series of dinner parties where I
asked guests to speak about their experiences with blood. I allowed the
stories to guide me to the artworks. First, I created a complex sound,
sculpture and video installation, Reflections on Blood. Many glasses filled
with red wine were suspended from the ceiling of a small gallery, and
lit with powerful lights. The room glowed red, the smell of hot wine filled
the space, and the air was saturated with the audio of the blood narratives.
When a viewer passed close to one of the glasses, it activated one of
the narratives, so there were infinite possible combinations of stories.
In subsequent works, I addressed different aspects of blood through video,
video performance, sculpture, sound and drawing.
Craters, nicks,
clefts, fissures, railroad tracks, spots-that-don't-tan, and raised purple
tissue. I asked 100 women to tell me about their physical scars: when,
where, and how they got them. The interviews are the basis of this audio
and mixed media work. The Scar Project visual work consists of layered
planes of plexiglass with sculptural, drawn, and textual elements. Headphones
playing the interview of the woman depicted accompany most pieces. There
is also a textured sound piece played on speakers in the exhibition space
that utilizes all of the interviews.
My primary
objective is to explore the way in which personal history manifests physically-how
our lives become inscribed on our bodies. As the stories unfolded, I realized
I had radically underestimated the depth and complexity of this subject.
With laughter, tears, and the tools of storytelling each woman wove a
life-story, painting a biographical picture and unveiling aspects of her
identity. The Scar Project sings the stories and celebrates the lives
of these extraordinary women.
Most recently,
I created a studio installation called Salt Prayer Wall. To make it, I
cut niches in a wall, then dripped wet salt onto it over the course of
two months. During the entire process, I was…well….praying.
For everyone I know. Or maybe well-wishing is more apt. Something like:
"May Mama be happy, may she be peaceful. May Devon be happy, may
he have success." Again and again and again. I used over 400 pounds
of salt to make the installation.
Making this
artwork allowed me to direct my attention to healing on many levels; and
I am looking forward to expanding on the idea in a future installation.
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