NEW SCULPTURAL WORKS
I learned about the anatomy of the heart and directions that blood courses through it while observing my child’s numerous echocardiograms which aided in the diagnosis of his congenital heart defect. The computer monitor, with flashes of blue, red, yellow, and orange, was like a viewing hole to his insides. A fascination with the internal and what I cannot see firsthand put viscera and the tenuous health of the body at the center of my work, allowing me to reflect on ecology, mystery, animal conservation, and species extinction.
Making human-scaled sculptures that appear lifelike with an otherworldly aspect, I employ viewing holes and mirrors to draw the viewer’s gaze to their interiors. The sculptures are made of ordinary materials – plaster, silicone, paper, resin – yet they do not seem constructed, but rather grown. Inside them, there are smaller sculptures, just like a heart, which conjure images of birds, amphibians, and sea life in varying states of vigor or decay. Within these creatures lies a disquieting narrative that illuminates their possible decline and disappearance. Similar to a doctor studying the heart, I invite the viewer to examine taxidermy animals and sculptural animal objects to contemplate the health of earth’s wildlife.
PREVIOUS WORK
The sculpture and installations I make exist at the intersection of medicine and nature. My practice took this focus when I witnessed something few people see–family members undergoing repeated surgical procedures. Day after day, I saw the fragility of the human body and observed the healing process and the physical apparatus it requires. As nurses applied bandages and placed tubes I began, through similar repetitive processes, to make objects–birds and nests–from the trash that healing procedures generated. The juxtaposition of organic forms and synthetic materials became alluring. I was drawn into the world of the hospital, and this became the basis of my inquiry.
My work implies a series of contradictions. These include nature and the artificial world that sustains us, resilience of the body and the advanced medical technology we have come to rely on, fear and sweetness, strength and vulnerability, and waste and environmental awareness.
