My thesis work uses printmaking, papermaking, sculpture, and drawing to create communities of shapes that adhere to a framework at varying degrees. There is tension between precision and flexibility, reflecting my need to know what to expect from others and simultaneously, to escape from others’ gaze and prescribed roles. I imagine each shape as an individual navigating a complex cultural system, of which we see only a portion. Perhaps they are trapped, caught in place and unable to move. Perhaps they are negotiating movement with those around them.
My work reflects on both my own story and the questions that have been stirred by interacting with people in different places and historical eras, both in person and through physical intermediaries (books and manuscripts). Geometric shapes and fluid lines create a visual language that both affirms and negates the power of the written word and text as a reliable form of communication. I attempt to blur the lines between order and chaos, new and old, self and other, language and dance.
