STATEMENT OF WORK

I make work riddled with juxtapositions and invite all types of materials to coexist. Organic next to synthetic, readymade alongside handmade, real vs. fake, past beside present.   Placing opposing materials side by side represents my desire to highlight the presence of diversity in our everyday. When things that are so energetically different can function side by side, you can appreciate each thing for the innate character it holds while simultaneously realizing that the shared proximity has created something new and visually exciting. The goal is to assemble works that utilize highly disparate materials, creating pieces that are both fragile and resilient, reflecting two qualities essential to all humanity.

Hair is the foundational material that I thread through all my work. It is a loaded signifier and visceral activator. It holds a powerful connection to identity, femininity, religion, and freedom.  Whether we realize it or not, hair and the way we choose to present it, supplement, remove, or hide it, has become a means of bodily communication and a relational tool. Having an attention-getting hairstyle or hair color has always been my way of expressing autonomy growing up in a community filled with tribal homogeny. 

Along with synthetic hair, resin, pins, thread, craft ornaments, found objects, and organic matter are things that I use repeatedly. Repetitive use of familiar objects along with improvisational action creates the basis for shared discovery between the viewer and me. Sourced from personal hoards, street garbage, beauty supply stores, craft stores, Amazon Prime, and thrift shops, my materials rarely come from the art supply store. 

Born and bred in New York City, and raised in an immigrant community, I grew up surrounded by lively histories and intense contrast. This upbringing embedded a propensity toward reimagining, and the belief in the beauty of difference as a source of possibility.