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My Bio:
When I was a teenager, I was trained as a clown after a talent scout discovered me at one of my gymnastic events. Clowning connected me to others and at the same time masked and distanced how people engaged with me. Clowning and art helped me to cope with conditions around personal loss, coming to terms with death, and appreciating the fun sides of life.
My art practice is about connections to the body. Hair, found objects and the body in performance are my media of choice. My expertise as a professional hair stylist has influenced the choices of materials that I use in my artpractice that is largely sculptural and performative. Collections of my client’s hair and synthetic fibres and recycled objects such as peroxide bottles, are used to reconnect with others. Image and the sense of touch are also strong influences in the sculptures I make. Touching is a way of participating and being a part of the creation. I’m compelled to add a tactile quality as a way to engage and connect with the subject of the art work. The making of functional, wearable and performance art, are props and designed to preserve the people in my life.
Most of the wearable art is made from things other then fabric and is about risk and humor.
Risk in that the material is not something one would normally wear as fashion and invites questions. Humour in that there is an absurdity in making a fashionable dress out of materials that are personal. I feel today we should be able to talk about certain topics without feeling embarrassement. I think my strongest creations are about the body, bodily functions and the materials used to protect us. I have struggled speaking about certain topics because of the generation I was brought up in. I’m happy to see that this schools are informing the youth about health and safety.
The Dress called Spectacle, is made out of Pads and Tampons. I wanted to create an avand-garde dress, not immediately recognized by the material it was made with, machine sewn. It speaks of the spectacle one makes of our selves when we are not protected. I made this dress as a celebration and loss when one goes through menopause, the loss of child bearing years and the celebration of not needing that sort of protection anymore.
In most of my creations there is a fibre element. The casting of an object much like being fitted for a garment, making it out of a material that can only be worn once. Like a wedding dress, worn and put in a closet.