Twisted
Pulp made of the artist's clothing thrown at forms made of painted pine.
Contemporary Austin Crit Group Exhibition, grayDUCK Gallery. 2018.
Contemporary Austin Crit Group Exhibition, grayDUCK Gallery. 2018.
As a 6-year-old, I can remember being dropped off on I-10 with a bag to collect aluminum cans to get recycled and turned into cash so we could eat. My mom would wait a mile or two down I-10 and we’d meet her there, my brothers and I. The road was far from the straight and narrow for me. Twisted is a visual representation of the path I took to get away from that. Those who are close to me will tell you that I am incapable of doing anything the simple way. I have to complicate and control everything in my life, it is reflective in most of my works. Trying to be free when creating these wooden sculptures was near impossible, but I let go when I started to throw pulp at them. The pulp is made out of my clothing that I cut into tiny pieces and then fed through a machine called a Hollander Beater to transition the fibers into pulp. I then grabbed the pulp and with emotion, I threw it at these sculptures that represent the paths I have taken. What I learned is that what we all have heard a time or two is true, sometimes the hard path is worth it.