Artist Statement

I make time-based sculpture with sugar. I am interested in sculpture because it gives a rounded viewing and potentially interactive experience, engaging spatially and through the senses. Sugar is responsive to elements such as temperature, water, light, and time. I find this malleability reflected in myself as I change and explore the artistic growth process. My philosophy is to retain enthusiasm and see beauty in change; this is mirrored in the flexibility of my materials. It is important to me to always have a sense of experimentation when making because it has pushed me the furthest and has made me evolve and think the most, while still retaining a sense of wonder and enthusiasm for youth. I use sugar as a material because it is versatile, non-traditional and multisensory. It is important for my viewers to interact with my art in a new way and to have a sense of wonder and play, which reflects my experiences throughout my life. For my non-interactive works, the important aspects are subtle movements contrasting with dramatic changes. This displays all of the different phases of making ephemeral art such as the moment of waiting for a material to cure or heat, the anxiety of installation with the uncertainty of the work’s survival, and the critical moments when the work comes to a climax. The crux is often what leads to the ultimate heartbreak of the work being destroyed, in most cases by that, which enables its full potential.