My artistic practice is an expression of personal grief, the search for identity, and a critical interrogation of western traditions, societal expectations, and the industry surrounding death and bereavement. Exploring the public and the personal through writings such as The Bleeding Tree by Hollie Starling and The American Way of Death: Revisited by Jessica Mitford, I seek sovereignty from the accepted grief narrative, championing the individual.
Heavily ritualistic, my practice incorporates a concern for material; repetitive, time consuming processes; and reflective writing. A symbiotic relationship, poetry clarifies my emotions and direction for artwork, while the process of making is a meditative exercise, allowing my mind to follow its whims and unravel tangles, ultimately feeding my poetry.
I use occult and folk imagery to convey the distance between societal expectation and personal need alongside structuring my own metaphors. I make sculptural artifacts formed of acrylic paint on live edge wood and glass. Material as metaphor, wood is the weight of time and wisdom, harkening to a closeness to nature and natural cycles. Glass is my metaphor for memory, claiming both fragility and strength.
I strive for honest introspection and sharing as a way to know myself, be known, and seek community. Fuelling the work by repeatedly revisiting and sharing trauma is a cleansing and protective ritual. With vulnerability, and the use of culturally recognized lore, I create a layer of protection, shielding myself from too much openness and the possible unveiling of things I’m not ready to place in the light.