My sculpture practice is a direct outgrowth of a sustained daily meditation practice, having begun in an effort to translate experiences of expansiveness into visual form—to map the development of consciousness.
Since 2009, the majority of my work has consisted of wall-hung reliefs made variously of cast paper, felt, vinyl, and canvas. In addition to materiality, process as meditation is a key element, as the repetition of creating and assembling many similar components mimics the recitation of mantras, simultaneously marking and erasing time.
Current reliefs are devotional efforts, sometimes dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva or designed to stimulate chakras, energy centers in the body. Hand woven of industrial felt or vinyl in an unconventional technique, they reference textiles as well as mark making. The idiosyncratic qualities resulting from hand fabrication convey a sense of diversity in unity and call out the interconnectedness of all things in our universe: similar yet richly varied.
My work is also informed by a recent interest in Tantric and Neo-Tantric Indian art, particularly the relationship between art and technology in the Indian meditation diagrams called yantras: sacred instruments "activated" through recitation of specific mantras. In this spirit I've been exploring ways to invest works with energetic qualities of ordering and quietude based on ayurvedic principles: that the consciousness of a cook is imparted to food and thus is transformed into the bodies of its consumers, for example. A return to the notion of art as service, craft-based processes and materials, and value of the spiritual growth that can be found via handwork reflect my own need to be divested of the cynicism that has enveloped our culture and its products.
Since 2009, the majority of my work has consisted of wall-hung reliefs made variously of cast paper, felt, vinyl, and canvas. In addition to materiality, process as meditation is a key element, as the repetition of creating and assembling many similar components mimics the recitation of mantras, simultaneously marking and erasing time.
Current reliefs are devotional efforts, sometimes dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva or designed to stimulate chakras, energy centers in the body. Hand woven of industrial felt or vinyl in an unconventional technique, they reference textiles as well as mark making. The idiosyncratic qualities resulting from hand fabrication convey a sense of diversity in unity and call out the interconnectedness of all things in our universe: similar yet richly varied.
My work is also informed by a recent interest in Tantric and Neo-Tantric Indian art, particularly the relationship between art and technology in the Indian meditation diagrams called yantras: sacred instruments "activated" through recitation of specific mantras. In this spirit I've been exploring ways to invest works with energetic qualities of ordering and quietude based on ayurvedic principles: that the consciousness of a cook is imparted to food and thus is transformed into the bodies of its consumers, for example. A return to the notion of art as service, craft-based processes and materials, and value of the spiritual growth that can be found via handwork reflect my own need to be divested of the cynicism that has enveloped our culture and its products.