My thesis work explores the relationship of the body to objects, focusing on the metaphor of clothing and surface coverings as second skins, intimate tactile coverings that may or may not succeed in sheltering the body from harm during vulnerable stages of development. The body is the site of my artistic practice. I draw my inspiration from the somatic senses, the experience and memory of touch dealing mainly with the skin but also extending into the muscle, throat and genitalia. I am fascinated by the illusion of boundaries, with the resilience and the vulnerability of the skin, the vast organ that is our most exterior, yet for myself, the most private. These pieces are a response to the moment when boundaries breakdown, the moment of possibility, of destruction, and of belonging. My personal definition of a performance artist is an individual who works publicly with their body, not simply trying to capture and embody the mundane movement of everyday life, but exploring the extremes of the human being. The performer seeks to discard their fears and free themselves from the everyday masks they wear and does not merely display their body, but offers it openly as one gives oneself in love, without defense. My sculptures are objects of obsession and accumulation built from the repetition of the hand, the stitch, and the caress. I utilize common textiles such as hosiery, polyester fiber, latex, duct tape, ace bandages, dead plant matter, and cotton batting in addition to knitting my own textiles out of wire, hair, and thread. Though decomposing, both metaphorically and literally, the surface is full of new growth. Underneath may be hollow and eaten away, but the skin is becoming something new. Categories All