ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a multidisciplinary artist who is fascinated by the role small parts play in complex systems. Whether it be an individual in relation to society or a muscle to the body, I like thinking about how things fit together.

In my studio practice I explore how class and economics impact peoples' lives. My recent work investigates the precarious emotional landscape of living with debt. In a recent series of vessel sculptures the forms suggest utility but ultimately fail to deliver. Their surfaces are influenced by the visual language of tabletop games, echoing bureaucratic hoops that debt holders navigate. Debt is an experience shared by millions of people in the US who acquire it to pay for basic needs such as medical care, housing, and education. For those without access to personal or inherited wealth, acquiring debt is simply part of making ends meet. My obsession with debt is born from my personal experience and an interest in discerning the visible/invisible boundaries of labor and class. 

I am drawn to process-based materials and ways of making. My most recent work uses ceramics and felt, and prior works include found materials collages, installation, printmaking, and performance.

Although they are distinct from one another, ceramics and felt simultaneously embody fragility and strength. Both clay and felt both require physical manipulation and necessitate working in stages. They are indirect forms of mark making and by engaging with each process I am forced to slow down. I often begin with sketching and work intuitively from there: squeezing, pulling, twisting, poking, and agitating. I tug, warp, bend, and balance to manipulate forms. Through the work of my hands, heat of the kiln and pressure of agitation, soft clay and loose fibers are transformed into stable ceramic and secure tight felt. I like repurposing these materials traditionally used in functional craft and changing their material narratives into a different type of usefulness.