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I am interested in the personal, human experience of resistance and surrender, specifically in the process of change. I grew up in Beaumont, TX, a city often affected by tropical storms and hurricanes, and a home that was damaged, in a state of continuous change, and never reaching desired completion. All of these factors have had a lasting impression on my work. I find these characteristics of my home, deconstruction, and things being left undone furtively moving into my work and what I am attracted to.

 

When making work, I think about the vulnerability and weaknesses that are exposed in the process of change, similar to a home being remodeled. I am fascinated by the weak spots, emotions, and resistance that are displayed when my own perceptions, ideas, and motivations, are being deconstructed and reshaped.

 

I think about these ideas through making visual works out of mostly found materials. Sometimes I hunt for materials that are nostalgic, beautiful, damaged, or even gross to me, and sometimes they seem to find me. The materials I use are often reminiscent of the items that surrounded me during my childhood – things found in or around a home. These materials are for sawing, squishing, bending, stuffing, gluing, and sometimes forcing together.

 

These elements are evident in my work, “,” where my old wooden headboard was roughly cut with a jigsaw and coerced into a rounded shape, then nailed, glued, and forced to permanently rest against a found wooden panel, crusted with Styrofoam insulation. Wedged between the two are thin, almost-transparent sheets of foam and fluffy white batting, adding layers of softness against the hard wood surfaces. Along the edge of the deconstructed headboard, barren holes are stuffed with various pieces of foam, plastic, and other found materials. The nearly human-sized object gently rests against a wall, it’s weighty body and rough edges squishing a pile of thick foam on the floor. I enjoy this intuitive process of construction.

 

I often combine shapes, colors, and materials outside of their original or expected purpose. Colors convey weaknesses alongside irregular shapes and unconventional materials, creating visual moments of tension or awkwardness. These combinations reflect the resistance or discomfort I often feel to change and deconstruction in my own life. In addition, the titles of my pieces reflect fragments of thoughts or conversations I have with myself, God, or others, representing different states during the process of change.

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