In North American culture, we are crippled with a chronic gluttony, fed on diets of popularized consumer culture, anesthetized by the over stimulation of an image-laden existence; we are fat and unhappy, seeking refuge in ever increasing forms of disconnected communication, and the myriad of pharmacopoeia options. What our society does with pain is the question posed in my current body of work. It is a visual exploration of the mind/body connection, specifically the relationship between traumatic memory and disease; it is my personal history revealed and concealed simultaneously.


In my work, stitched, pulled, stuffed, painted and sealed surfaces coalesce with color; saturated hues indicate the presence of experience readily retrievable: the mapping of the mind. Gooey, slippery slick, translucent liquids coagulated in suspension, hark of the body, internal. By merging these two worlds, I hope to establish a dialogue, which refutes the dualistic notion of the mind/body separation, instead pointing to the holistic being.

Through this work I assert that the mind is a database of recollection, and that memory’s web is the infrastructure through which all new experience is processed, thus perception is contingent. Unconscious filters are silent sentinels dictating nuanced choices - the present is clouded and shaped by the past. In the catalogue of the mind, memory is arranged hierarchically; this hierarchy is influenced by the presence of emotional intensity and is categorized accordingly. Stored history is permeable, transmutable, and thus susceptible to influence when exposed to new information; it is a system poised in a state of perpetual flux, ebbing as new stimuli enter the equation of the mind. The body in turn manifests the hidden states of the mind, revealing externally even that which is hidden from ones own consciousness.

Material exploration is of great interest to me. Its specificity is the conceptual lever by which narrative is established in my work; it both anchors and defines the boundaries in which the work is maintained. I blend fine art material such as canvas and paint, with domestic textiles such as cheesecloth and embroidery thread, these are juxtaposed against any number of industrial goods such as discharge tubing, latex, bricks, and bubble-wrap. Each material is assigned a meaning based on its common function – for example, bubble-wrap has come to represent internal defense mechanisms, because it is used to cushion and protect. I relate the wrapping that takes place when we box delicate items, to the way memories are often surrounded by mental cushions, that keep them fresh in our mind, despite the often jarring movement through time.

It is through working with each material that I begin to understand its relationship to those it is juxtaposed against. Thus, the manipulation of materials facilitates a practice of play; intuitive play leads to discovery, this discovery leads to understanding, and understanding leads to articulation. Consequently, the works’ narrative evolves as each material speaks – its quotidian nature is the key to unlocking meaning.

The narrative content in my work is necessarily veiled in abstraction. Its role is fundamental, in that it creates a healthy boundary between my personal experience and the viewer, allowing a much broader conversation. My aim is to create a mirror to reflect back, the common human struggle, rather than illicit empathy. Pain is both a universal and completely solitary experience – this work seeks to relate to, and discuss both notions simultaneously.