Artist Statement

 

My emphasis on material and conceptual contradictions attempts to articulate my interpretation of the absurd, where illogical relationships between ideas and materials become logical. I immerse the viewer in this realm of familiar-yet-unfamiliar objects, the vague interactivity of my sculptures creating a sense of uncertainty. This doubt as to their function prompts the viewer to question how the natural and urban worlds encroach upon each other and coalesce into our surroundings.

Looking at the world around me, I am drawn to contrasts and contradictions. I respond to the incongruities of powerlines in the midst of the woods, of weeds and wildflowers engulfing electrical transformers, and even the simple contrast between a fallen tree and the prevailing verticality of a forest. I transform familiar forms and structures into unfamiliar objects. The textures of wood and bark become obscured and flesh-like when translated into silicone forms. Industrial architecture is simplified and altered, and the function becomes uncertain. These processes and materials merge into a body of work that creates an uneasy union between the natural and manufactured, effort and outcome, and the functional and nonfunctional. Though I reference industrial architecture and the textures of the natural world, I am purposefully vague about my intentions, allowing the viewer to generate their own relationship to this body of work.