March 11 - April 17, 2024Crutchfield Gallery
Artist Statement:
Materiality is central to my sculptural investigations; from acquisition at the edge of the capital market to the hyper-specificity of material dialogues and economies within the work, my practice operates in a way that regards material as the essence of reality. I consider the cultural contexts and histories of my chosen materials to be especially relevant in this respect, as they inform my understanding of conceptuality.
As is true of my lived experience, my practice operates only within my own means and usually by my own hand. I favor processes rooted in DIY sensibilities and accessible modes of making, often using fabrication techniques inspired by Appalachian craft traditions. These gestures of handcraft utilize repetitive manual labor in ways that mirror my background as an Amazon warehouse worker, a sanitation technician, and a farmhand. This labor-conscious methodology resulted not out of mere necessity, but rather for the sake of authenticity. The presence of my hand in the work acts as resistance to increasing industrialization and automated fabrication; in a world of manufactured objects, the handmade remains quintessentially human. In this regard, I classify my own labor as a medium that is crucial to the integrity of my practice.
Framework is a survey of rural culture and classed aesthetics in the American South. By responding to found objects that visually reference manual labor and blue collar work, these sculptures remix preconceived associations between form and material to create new meaning. The resulting systems that emerge reflect the influence of utility on our designed environment, which inherently structures the way we navigate the world.