Artist Statement
I am a lifelong artist who specializes in depicting the natural world through large-scale painterly textile sculptures. My work is based on theories of queer ecology, the belief that life expands beyond projections of binary cis-heteronormativity. By acknowledging that our understanding of nature is often coloured by the ideologies and agendas of the knowledge producers, we can realize that categories are imposed rather than innate. I am inspired by nature’s resilience and the adaptive survival strategies developed in the face of hostile environments. Through an exploration of biomimicry and co-evolution between species, I consider the narrative implications of unique morphological and behavioral adaptations.
I am interested in strategies of visibility management and codified methods for signalling within a community, drawing parallels with queer modes of being. I am considering the complications around “passing” and navigating simultaneous desires for connection and safety. Piercings and other forms of autonomous bodily modification allude to queer coded aesthetics and a reclamation of identity. By showcasing the androgyny and mutability of natural evolution, I seek to empower expressions of fluidity and divergence within myself and others.
I am drawn to textiles for their corporeality and the intimacy of our relationships with cloth. In the home, textiles often represent an act of care or comfort, wrapping, holding, cleaning, shading. As a medium, fiber arts have historically been associated with craft and “women’s work”, enhancing associations with domestic labour and unrecognized effort. My practice challenges misogynistic distinctions by applying cross-disciplinary techniques whilst striving for innovation in my field. I find joy in the process of transformation, turning fluid textiles into carefully structured forms. Each piece is meticulously patterned, pushing the capabilities of my materials. I apply my background in painting to the surface texture, evoking the presence of the artist’s hand in the specificity of the strokes.
I am a lifelong artist who specializes in depicting the natural world through large-scale painterly textile sculptures. My work is based on theories of queer ecology, the belief that life expands beyond projections of binary cis-heteronormativity. By acknowledging that our understanding of nature is often coloured by the ideologies and agendas of the knowledge producers, we can realize that categories are imposed rather than innate. I am inspired by nature’s resilience and the adaptive survival strategies developed in the face of hostile environments. Through an exploration of biomimicry and co-evolution between species, I consider the narrative implications of unique morphological and behavioral adaptations.
I am interested in strategies of visibility management and codified methods for signalling within a community, drawing parallels with queer modes of being. I am considering the complications around “passing” and navigating simultaneous desires for connection and safety. Piercings and other forms of autonomous bodily modification allude to queer coded aesthetics and a reclamation of identity. By showcasing the androgyny and mutability of natural evolution, I seek to empower expressions of fluidity and divergence within myself and others.
I am drawn to textiles for their corporeality and the intimacy of our relationships with cloth. In the home, textiles often represent an act of care or comfort, wrapping, holding, cleaning, shading. As a medium, fiber arts have historically been associated with craft and “women’s work”, enhancing associations with domestic labour and unrecognized effort. My practice challenges misogynistic distinctions by applying cross-disciplinary techniques whilst striving for innovation in my field. I find joy in the process of transformation, turning fluid textiles into carefully structured forms. Each piece is meticulously patterned, pushing the capabilities of my materials. I apply my background in painting to the surface texture, evoking the presence of the artist’s hand in the specificity of the strokes.