ARTIST STATEMENT

My work is informed by a hybridization of the histories and traditions of Metalsmithing & Jewelry with basketry--wherein I am weaving metal into basket forms. This is how I give my objects a solid skeleton, adding structural integrity and giving my concepts a tactility that shifts traditional basketry materials. The coiling technique I use references Sierra Leonean fanner baskets and through these specific forms I investigating the act of holding space for that which we cannot physically touch.

Working with the history of an estranged extended family dynamic, my baskets are emotional vessels; a means to cultivate and process love, understanding, relationships, and grief. These objects are designed to hold space, to hold the intangible, the thoughts and feelings that we all have but are unable to wrap our hands around. With that in mind, it is integral to my practice that this particular attempt at vulnerability is centered around the baskets interactions with the body. They carry the weight of memories, breath, and people, those that are absent and those that are lost. By engaging with their forms, the baskets become receptacles through which it is possible to find closure.

Being able to share space with the baskets, cradle them against your cheek, hold them between the palms of your hands, and nestle them close to your chest, is part and parcel of the healing process. It’s a way of bridging the gap between what you have and what you don’t.