The Struggle Is Real?

In the ever-present pursuit of finding self in self-expression, I have developed a fascination with struggle. Throughout my thesis work, I define struggle as the spectrum of challenging human experiences, and our responses to these situations. Struggle is embodied in everything from overarching social discontentment down to the most mundane instances of tension. My work is conceptually grounded in this universal emotion, and it encourages the viewers to reflect on their response to struggle. Depression, anxiety, and a stripped sense of confidence and control are driving factors in my thesis work.

My autobiographical sculptures are an investigation into the complex and often conflicting emotions that arise from intra-personal struggle. I explore materiality through humorous and ironic gestures that express the challenges and triumphs of the human psyche.

How I present this narrative is a “sculptural trompe-l’oeil”: to surprise and encourage the viewer to question their understanding of wood and to investigate the scene laid out before them. I intentionally play with the embedded humor of objects that are neither made with their usual material nor upholding their typically perceived function. As a devoted crafts-based artist, I am interested in sustainable material engagement and society's relationship with wood.

My wooden bungee cords hold both a literal and metaphorical intention in the work, connecting material, process, tension, and irony. These cords can be interpreted as both external support systems that the body can trust and rely on as well as internal strengths of character that encourage it to keep trying. My chosen medium and processes deeply inform my concept of struggle and tension in everyday life.