My mixed media assemblages are inspired by Victorian mourning art and explore the themes of love, loss and grief. The traditional purpose of mourning art is to symbolically represent the loss of a loved one to death, to console those who grieve, and to convey the idea that love continues beyond death. In mourning art, memory bridges the distance between absence and presence. I am inspired by mourning art because it combines handmade craftsmanship, attention to detail, and sentimental narrative, within a quiet, inward-focused space. The combination of these elements results in the creation of surreal, fetish-like objects of dark beauty. Although my work explores the themes of love, loss and grief, these themes are not tied exclusively to death. Loss may instead represent the past, severed relationships, or the end of youth. Grief may be over abandonment, unfulfilled desire, or the weight of the living, physical body and its inevitable decay.
My work also interweaves other long-term interests, including the darker aspects of Romanticism, Gothic literature, late 19th century archetypal imagery in fine art, and gender roles for women in the Victorian era.
Both the materials and the process of my work reference a tradition of women’s domestic art. The materials I use (beads, buttons, fabric, thread, ribbons, etc.), have feminine associations and are also associated more with craft, rather than with fine art. All of my work includes hand sewing. The process involved in creating it can be described as repetitive, detail oriented, and labor intensive. These words are often used to describe “women’s work”, when an occupation is stereotyped by gender. The obsessively repetitive nature of my work also alludes to the idea of horror vacui, a fear of empty spaces. The term has been used to describe the oppressive atmosphere and clutter of interior design in the Victorian era.
My work also interweaves other long-term interests, including the darker aspects of Romanticism, Gothic literature, late 19th century archetypal imagery in fine art, and gender roles for women in the Victorian era.
Both the materials and the process of my work reference a tradition of women’s domestic art. The materials I use (beads, buttons, fabric, thread, ribbons, etc.), have feminine associations and are also associated more with craft, rather than with fine art. All of my work includes hand sewing. The process involved in creating it can be described as repetitive, detail oriented, and labor intensive. These words are often used to describe “women’s work”, when an occupation is stereotyped by gender. The obsessively repetitive nature of my work also alludes to the idea of horror vacui, a fear of empty spaces. The term has been used to describe the oppressive atmosphere and clutter of interior design in the Victorian era.
