Conceptual Art Statement, 2022

My conceptual art practice tackles topics that are spoken about in hushed voices & carry the weight of societal stigma & shame. My art reclaims the beauty inherent in perceived flaws & deviations from perfection. It is a catalyst for shifting perceptions around mental illness, disability, & the pursuit for perfection. 

I began combining sculpture and the body out of necessity when I broke my ankle just before performing “A Humble Reliance”. I created a wearable steel sculpture that immobilized my ankle & let me perform. That ankle brace tied the work together and set me on a new path. 

Since then, I have used metal to manipulate the human body in other significant works. For “Restriction, Perfection” I worked with my first team: 5 dancers, a composer, costume designer, photographer, & filmmaker, to create my vision. I made wearable sculptures that physically represented the dancer’s relationships with their bodies & the performance invited viewers to consider their own relationships with their bodies.

It was performed at Old Shafer Creamery & Event Center, Tek Box in Cowles Center for Performing Arts, & later adapted into an exhibition. Local & national funders supported it: Puffin Foundation’s Annual Artist Grant, VSA Minnesota’s Emerging Artist Grant, & East Central Regional Arts Council’s McKnight Fellowship Grant & the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund Grant.

Next, working with 4 amputees, I created “Altered Aesthetics.” I made wearable sculptures that extended from their residual limbs to turn their bodies into works of art. The final work was a visual homage to the body’s story & forced viewers to confront their own discomfort with disability. Forecast Public Art’s Early-Career Artist R&D Grant & a crowdsourcing campaign funded it. It experienced significant recognition in both local & national publications & showed in consecutive exhibitions across MN, WI, and NJ for 2 full years. 

From that success, I was well-poised to build on the momentum & begin my next body of work. I began conceiving ideas immediately & in late 2019 started R&D for my next project, Hallucinations.