Artist Statement

My work revolves around the human body and the translation of my perceptions while seeking to connect and question the foundation of my identity with the ones that coexist. I consecrate the human body, referencing it through form and performance as a canvas, a medium, and a re-imagined symbol. In the series titled “I’m An American Fucker” I confront a part of myself that is an American Woman, living in a consumer based society. Cultural references in the form of iconography and symbols are used in my work to push against ignored histories and capitalist culture. The commodification of Native American culture and stolen land is referenced in “Ay Caramba” where a long string of fake turquoise beads creates the necklace which suspends a large outline of a silver star, and a stylized red penis. I remember seeing Carl’s JR burger ads as a young impressionable girl, feeling unsettled by the shameless sexualization of women eating burgers. These women were depicted as something to be consumed, like a piece of meat. America’s cultural obsession with burgers and objectification of women compelled the making of stylized burger neck pieces, “Burger Chain” and “50 Studs”. As a consumer living in a capitalist society I have the choices of what I buy to take care of. In the work “Conceived Consumption” it is brought to life through storing my collection of receipts in an abdominal vessel as a reminder of the power of one’s purchases. Take nothing for Granted.