Artist Statement
I am both a sculptural artist and a mental health activist. I am not one more than the other, but understand myself as one and the same. My personal narrative is not distinctly necessary for my work's formal comprehension or individual interpretation; however, to know my story in connection to the visual work I produce proposes a more profound relationship between conversations of mental health, trauma, and recovery.
Implementing materials discarded by society, my work stresses a symbolic parallel to individuals ostracized and similarly thrown away as they are labeled 'broken and unworthy' by their societal counterparts. Transcending an object beyond its material function and mundane existence, I invoke a quizzical observation of the unforeseen value of what we, as a society, consider useless. Applying these ideologies to the context of individuals facing mental illness, I emphasize prevalent stigmas, misinformation, and detrimental biases that still exist concerning mental health challenges.
My sculptures begin as an investigation into materiality; I initiate a dialogue with the distinctive material as it shares what it can and cannot do. I work in a retrograde process, beginning with a choice material, exploring intense experimentation with the chosen substance, and eventually reaching a destination of organic completion. In this procedure, every move and gesture is a distinct decision made in the moment. My work then becomes influenced by every external incident, solidifying its existence in a specific historical context as it is guided by the time's emotional discourse and societal temperament. It is traditional for my work to consist of no more than three materials, and through singular object repetition, my work reaches sizable evocative fruition. In my methodology, repetition becomes symbolic for its various distinct implications. The organized chaos of repetition references compulsive temperaments, therapeutic tendencies, and emphasizes the realization of the ability for something to amount to more than the sum of its worth. Through my strenuous repetitive process, I further instigate the conversations between art and mental health.
2023.
My process is labor-intensive, requiring copious mental and physical endurance. My sentiment is that the arduous undertaking behind my work equitably reflects the gravity and detriment of the topics I address. For myself, the operation in which I work becomes imperative in managing my complex understanding of the world around me and, therefore, is crucial to my survival. The toilsome approach to my practice is a means of necessary catharsis, and through the physical integration of my body in my work, I have found healing.