I find inspiration when traveling as my perspective changes at an uncomfortable speed and the assumptions I have about other people, other places and myself are called into question. When traveling I collect mementos that, when I return home to the United States, struggle along with me to integrate into another context.
From 2009 to 2011, I lived in South India and traveled around Asia. I returned home to Washington D.C. last May and much to my surprise I came home from a life-altering experience to find myself a tourist complete with the expected accessories.
In my work, I seek to explore the fundamental nature of context and social coding in the perception and treatment of difference. Simultaneously, I seek a place for my memory-endowed objects while considering the identity of the traveler/collector.
My current body of work is one of experimentation that engages with my mementos as memories materialized but not seen by others as such. I am interested in the ability of my mementos, primarily patterned textiles, to concurrently tell a story about their location, about their social and religious function in that location and about myself as "the collector."
The materials I choose to work with take cue directly from my mementos as well as the nature of the questions I ask while exploring their materiality: From these mementos, can I make objects that reflect my personal relationship to them? Can I make objects that take into account their present day location and ultimate futility? Can I make objects that respond to the way that they are seen in an art context?
From 2009 to 2011, I lived in South India and traveled around Asia. I returned home to Washington D.C. last May and much to my surprise I came home from a life-altering experience to find myself a tourist complete with the expected accessories.
In my work, I seek to explore the fundamental nature of context and social coding in the perception and treatment of difference. Simultaneously, I seek a place for my memory-endowed objects while considering the identity of the traveler/collector.
My current body of work is one of experimentation that engages with my mementos as memories materialized but not seen by others as such. I am interested in the ability of my mementos, primarily patterned textiles, to concurrently tell a story about their location, about their social and religious function in that location and about myself as "the collector."
The materials I choose to work with take cue directly from my mementos as well as the nature of the questions I ask while exploring their materiality: From these mementos, can I make objects that reflect my personal relationship to them? Can I make objects that take into account their present day location and ultimate futility? Can I make objects that respond to the way that they are seen in an art context?
