Picking Up the Pieces Installation
The truth is often stranger than fiction. Appropriating and altering materials I create domestic scenes where nothing is as it seems. Appearing normal from afar, I use personal and found objects to communicate issues around mental illness, family, gender, and social taboos. Dining room chairs with objects embedded below the surface of their Saran wrapped cushions. Tea and coffee cups lie about, lipstick and coffee ring stained, with glass from the sidewalks of Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood fired within. Under the stairs lies a pile of orange glitter, a broom, and a laundry basket filled with my own baby clothes. The labels that once read OshKosh B’gosh now read: white trash, slut, easy, crazy, and worthless. Catholic iconography is scattered throughout. The windowsill is flooded with frames of altered family photos and found images. The window against the wall glows with neon orange, the color of warning. The white lace JC Penney curtains are coffee stained and tied back with locks of blonde hair. Through observations in the everyday, I find the bizarre and absurd in the familiar. Photographing, documenting and labeling out of place objects found in daily life. Playing with materials, I find interesting and odd juxtapositions, […]
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Cautionary Tales
The Cautionary Tales series uses traditional hand game patterns to report on themes of sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence. The lyrics are based on memories from both my mother’s and my own childhood experiences. Clap patterns are part of an oral tradition and their rhythms harken back to elementary school playgrounds where they are taught from child to child, spreading American folklore. Teachers and parents also use these to work on communication, listening, and fine motor skills. Under deeper inspection, Cautionary Tales, like the works of the Brothers Grimm and other folklore, serve as a warning of lurking dangers in everyday life. Free Copy Of Cautionary Tales Zine
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