Artist Statement
There is a ubiquitous search for balance between the desire to move on and the necessity for permanence. What do we choose to take with us and what do we leave behind?
Through my nomadic upbringing and constant transitions I am repeatedly faced with the decision between retaining or discarding. As much as I would like to claim that I am a free spirit, I have my share of attachments that keep me tied down. I have found beauty in these worldly ties, though they accumulate in feelings of both loss and responsibility. My inexhaustible longing to move and change, will always be framed by the people and values I care for.
It is impossible to fully retain and fully detach therefore we are torn between the two to find a compromise. Likewise in my artwork, I show this incompatibility by using contradictory materials- a dress out of fragile packaging material and a face mask out of see-through armour. In the process of searching for equilibrium I have tried to cope with my losses by calling upon my attachments. In my landscapes, for example, I search for the essence of comfort that transcends physical changes, where I have found refuge through these paintings. By finding what I value and honoring it in my work, I have found solace in what I am obliged to lose and cast away. As this year is coming to an end, I return to these decisions facing loss and opportunity as I brace myself for yet another change.
