ABOUT
Artistic practice from the beginning (2014 ~ 2019)
This is a collection of projects from the latest to the beginning of my studies at the University of British Columbia - Okanagan.
I focused on numerous topics including Identity, femininity, mental illness and explored using many different materials, including your traditional painting and drawing to creating collages and sculptural paintings using non-traditional materials such as various found materials.
A underlying theme that occurs in all of my practice is my First Nations ancestry that subconsciously influences the vast majority of my artistic practice.
STRANGELY FAMILIAR
Final 4th Year End Exhibition - UBC Okanagan - April 18, 2019
Artist Statement
I use textiles, mixed media and photography to explore identity, femininity and challenging topics such as mental illness, addiction, and sexuality. Humor is often used as a coping method to process and sift through what at times can be challenging to talk about. As a third generation survivor of residential schools, trauma has been passed down intergenerationally and plays in my subconscious. I use sewing to subdue feelings of anxiety from this intangible injury to my bloodline that at times result in an overwhelming present. I go further to emphasize my works by placing them in absurd contexts, drawing upon humour as a means of survival, and a way of reconciling with a dark past.
BOSS
March 3, 2019
Photography
SUICIDE SHOWER
April 4, 2019
Photography
BRIDGETTE
April 4, 2019
Photography
FATHER POKER
March 3, 2019
Photography
LISTERINE
April 4, 2019
Photography
HELLO BANANA
March 3, 2019
Photography
VISA 482
4th Year Projects - BFA - University of British Columbia - Okanagan
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SPREADING
Oct 22, 2018
This installation piece reflects my mental and physical state, the internal symptoms of depression and anxiety but also the impact it has on your external environment. I use fabric as a means to communicate, there is something about taking things apart and trying to put them back together that reflects my need of wanting to be whole. I create in order to keep myself in line, to block out all the negative emotion and only focus on the task at hand.
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WORTHLESS, FUCK OFF, DEAD.
November 26, 2018
The series of three works displayed are titled, Fuck Off, Worthless, and dead, combined together they create physical representations of my personal experienced anxieties. I am influenced by my own personal narratives, my journey to understand the self and the unconscious mind, my work reflects inner emotional impulses experienced from the everyday.
The textiles are made from found material in local thrift stores, utilizing tablecloths, and curtains. These materials are typically found in social environments and are cut apart into strips of cloth and put back together again with use of the sewing machine, a skill passed down to me. Upon further investigation these sewn strips of fabric are a reflection of my identity as a First Nations person, the strips represent the fringe traditionally sewn on native regalia for dancing. The added element of text on the two textiles adds a relatable factor creating a humorous effect that depicts how I vent about events in my life in the current moment, these events include inner anxieties and frustrations of dealing with anxiety and depression.
Through subconscious thought I create works that do not initially have meaning but develop as I create- releasing seemingly unintentional indigenous themes of identity along the way, I accept these themes and acknowledge them. My newfound goal is to show that there can more than one way to make Indigenous artwork, I wish to diversity what other people’s preconceived thoughts of what indigenous art can be and move forward in my own self-discovery to continually search to interpret these personal narratives in my practice.
FABRIC PAINTINGS
Inspired by the natural wrinkles in the fabric, I used them as a guideline to paint abstract forms onto raw canvas. I also took inspiration from my First Nations heritage in incorporating ribbon and vibrant colors.
UNTITLED
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS WITH RIBBON
November 28th, 2018
UNTITLED
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS WITH RIBBON
November 7th, 2018
MASKS
A project created in 2017 as a desire to experiment with local found objects and materials with reference to personal identity and texture.
PAINTINGS
Series of paintings mainly with Oil on Canvas.
2017 IN A NUTSHELL
Selected sketches of live models collaged together on a large scale to create a image with complexity and presence to the viewer, with the added element of provocative words, this creates a feeling of anxiety and uneasiness.
SKETCHES - VISA 300
Drawing BFA - 3rd year
Working in the studio, sketching out portraits of live models.
