This body of work has developed around my questions about the sedimentation and elaboration of childhood fears, particularly those related to the physical place one calls home, and how they are manifested in adulthood. Approaching these themes in the work, I use materials that contain narratives of youth, recalling childhood play and domestic space. Yarn, buttons, soft bits of fabric, and children’s chairs push and pull against each other creating a tension that is at once playful and unsettling
This juxtaposition of levity and precarity conditions the viewer’s experience of the space, inviting him or her in for a closer look, while it maintains an undercurrent of uncertainty, discomfort and potential collapse. Navigating the space presents the viewer with a disconcerting experience as he or she must consider whether to physically enter certain works, whether others may fall off balance, or whether or not the work can or should be touched. Likewise, as children we navigate our domestic environment, often missing the dangers right in front of us, yet imagining them in places where we are safe. While rooted in my own memories and fears, the work speaks more broadly of the tenuous relationships we all hold with the memories of our childhood home.
