Artist Statement
Since I was small, my family and I have had a very close relationship. When I was little, my mother would take me to the Botanical Gardens on the weekends for Mommy-and-Me classes, where I would learn about different plants and insects, and build my love for nature. My father would take me to the park near our house, where he and I would play for hours. My favorite thing to do with my parents was read. My father would often read any of the many Dr. Seuss books in a plethora of accents to me, while my favorite books to read with my mother were the Olivia series, and Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type. We would often read on our old, purple couch in the living room with the lamp on in the corner.
Drawing from my childhood and my close-to obsession with preserving memories, my work aims to preserve memories in the form of imprints. Using the metaphor of impressions, I strive to create a body of work more universal and relatable to those who view it. Elements of the ‘hand’, such as fingerprints or purposely imperfect craft are often visible in my work to emphasize the humanness of memory, and the immense impact it has on us. Every time we recall a memory from our past, the memory itself becomes weaker and often less accurate, changed by our surroundings and other external influences. This ‘misremembering’ is represented in my work through imperfections - scratches, dents, implications of usage over time, as well as my choice of cool tones and use of black and white. Because of this human phenomenon, I choose to represent memory not as a clear recollection of the time and place, but instead as nostalgic snapshots, the imprints left behind.
