Statement

My work blends fragments of worthy but unwanted things into configurations and vibrant micro-environments that connect to histories, memories, and our competing desires to protect and connect.

Most of my materials come from curbside piles in my neighborhood or from bags of random items friends give me when decluttering. I use labor intensive processes to break down and reshape these familiar objects into raw materials. This process takes countless hours of focused attention, during which I reflect on the stories behind these items—who created or owned them, what they’ve witnessed, and what circumstances led to their abandonment

Once processed, I mix once-sentimental things like holiday decorations, stuffed animals, handmade afghans, and old sweaters with everyday functional things like toothpicks, buttons, sponges, and window screen into forms that reflect relationships between innate needs and external circumstances, highlighting both the differences and commonalities in our lives. Many pieces feature densely tangled, disorienting layers of material, creating chaotic yet structured compositions. I combine synthetic, organic, reflective, precious, disposable, sharp, soft, slick, and delicate surfaces, resulting in swirling, painterly arrangements.

In other pieces, arrangements of familiar objects are bound or constrained, yet spill forth in unexpected ways, with tendrils of new growth emerging. I also create whimsical clusters of consumer debris and scraps of old sweaters or blankets, evoking macroscopic views of airborne particulates, microbes, or perhaps, subliminal ideas we have inherited or internalized. Occasionally, the sculptures incorporate domestic furniture into ornate architectural forms resembling watchtowers, alters, and makeshift shrines that reflect cognitive dissonance necessary to thrive in spite of the underlying power structures.