Artist Statement

My practice makes the viewer aware of the systems within which we operate. I commandeer appearances; treating art history as a database, retrieving and amalgamating for future creations.  This intentional remaking highlights the collaborative production of culture. Through borrowing, the context becomes the primary focus. The forms fall into two categories: objects and performances. I construct the objects from common, recognizable materials like drywall, 2x4s, plywood, newsprint, and cotton fabric. For example, my billboard where bond paper and 2x4s memorialize a humorous inauguration. These material choices draw attention to the overlapping conditions we operate within, rather than the allure of the pieces. I augment these corporeal elements with intangible ones like bureaucratic procedures and archival records. For instance, checking out a library’s unread books from a two year period, revealing the forgotten and overlooked. The performances are gestures intended to express an idea through engaging a context with a body. For example, hiring a veteran to remake a wall drawing. The recognition of someone’s abnormal actions creates a situation that lays bare the gears of the system. My practice critiques and dovetails with our everyday. While the economic, political, or educational systems feel immutable; my work provides and produces poetic and symbolic paths of resistance.