Radar: Tracking Series
I was gifted these 6 matte black dirty
wooden chair seats to possibly use in my work. They sat for a year in my studio, peaking out on a shelf, stacked together. I had painfully hurt my knee and was fighting through compressions of space and accessibility. I was listening to audio books by Brene Brown, reflecting and surveying myself: feeling, looking, and identifying. Concurrently, I was questioning my future abilities, dealing with losses and ruminating about relationships. My physical issue held me in a more static state, so I took the time to explore other ideas and began writing again. Painting large was difficult because I had trouble getting around, but by changing my focus I began tracking and recognizing patterns and other visuals surfaced. I remembered the arched pieces and quickly identified my focus as a tracking series ie: Radar. They allowed an idea to swell and swiftly began painting directly onto the boards, holding them in my lap as I rested. It was uncomfortable yet fascinating to see what was expressed: expansive and close spaces marked also in thread, words, calibrations and keys. I found these pieces were the outward examples, metaphors, for tracking my self: feelings, questions, and actions were illuminated through the darkness and unknown spaces. This collection is grounded in the recesses of hope and movement, layering new content, drawing ideas from the world, stumbling into and supporting the beauty of shadows as well as jeweled reveals.These pieces are visual reminders to assess when something is off, tracking it in an attempt to recognize our complex states of being.