Artist Statement
During the past year, masks have become a necessary accessory against the coronavirus. Essential for our protection against this unseen invader, masks have long held significance for various cultures throughout history. As an important part of ceremonies and rituals, masks are seen as a way to bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual world. The wearers are not disguised as spirits but rather become possessed by that spirit; they become a conduit through which the supernatural can operate within our world. Entranced, a wearer’s movements become the unconscious expression of something beyond our human understanding; free the conscious restrictions created by society.
My work is concerned with the renewal of mythological beliefs and folk traditions, such as the use of masks, that today are often dismissed as relics of less informed societies. As science saturates us with a never-ending stream of information, the metaphorical stories that once helped to shape societies are now seen as childish and of no use to an enlightened society. From the cave paintings of our prehistoric ancestors, the arts have long been used to help communicate mythological stories the transformative events intrinsic to the human condition such as birth, adulthood and death. Through the use of crafts practices, such as knitting, I attempt to expand upon the symbolic metaphors already established within our collective history. Inspired by the Arte Povera movement of the 1970’s and its revitalization of craft practices and spectacle to take an anti-modernist stance; my use of everyday materials, such as yarn and textiles, help to reflect the angst I feel as self-reliance and individualism become erased by the digital age.
Thesis Artwork
