Statement:
Growing up in the midwest, there has always been this disconnect from the human experience. With the combination of geographic seclusion, harsh elements and conservative views, the exploration of identity and self has disappeared from the community. Men and women are pushed toward more “traditional roles”, and outliers who step out of line have molded outwardly to fit expectations. This has caused the human experience to adapt out of necessity to take place in more subtle, intimate, and secretive ways–within our homes. Through this paradigm shift, the witnesses have been the spaces themselves and the objects within.
The works encompass the push and pull of conservative influences that have plagued the outliers of the midwest. The paintings are on both conventional canvases and repurposed unconventional surfaces/planes found in domestic spaces. I pull from muses and stories of real midwestern citizens– reaching into the community to share the stories of repressed identities and personhoods.The pieces themselves serve as vessels for these muses to explore the complexities of identity. The unconventional surfaces like found fabrics and domestic items are used to give a sense of intimacy, familiarity, and nostalgia, playing on our concept of “home”. They also serve as a geographical marker, as if the muses have been plucked out of their own spaces and put on display.
With my secluded upbringing, my works became a movement in opposition to social ignorance. Perspective is used as a tool forming and evolving, fighting against underlying biases.
