pick up the pieces
abandoned, fragile, and shattered
pick up the pieces
fixed broken
pick up the pieces
decay illuminated
pick up the pieces
flaws treated
pick up the pieces
sedated perfection
pick up the pieces
benevolence scars
pick up the pieces
abandoned, fragile, and shattered
Pick Up the Pieces, uses personal and found objects to communicate the cycle of mental illness that often leads to homelessness. The tea and coffee cups, which appear normal from afar, under closer inspection reveal lipstick and coffee ring stains, and glass from the sidewalks of Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood fired within. This work came from reflections on the broken beer bottles I would see while walking to my studio each day. During the daylight they appeared abandoned, fragile, and shattered; during the night, illuminated and glistening. These dualities called to mind the experiences of people struggling with acute mental illness.
Why did I possess the desire to clean this?
This work allows me to mindfully examine the self and what drives me as a caregiver. I do this work to understand life’s dualities: in order to fix something it must first be broken. This work connects with the Japanese and Zen Buddhist ceramic method and philosophy Kintsugi, which repairs broken porcelain with gold. Rather than the something to disguise, the imperfections of an object are illuminated, adding to its allure and making it more beautiful for having been broken. I want the viewer to examine my work and their own surroundings with a sense of curiosity. What is the evidence we leave behind? This work also connects to the key principles of sustainability, which include ecology, social justice, and non-violence.