Artist's Statement no. 1

(CUT-PAPER COLLAGES)

 

My collage work draws on elements of surrealism,

bringing together clashing and unexpected imagery

to draw attention to absurd contrasts. I often

combine conventionally attractive or cosmetically

enhanced “sellable” images with messy, visceral

elements such as cascading mountains of food. This

reflects my lifelong experience with an eating

disorder and serves as a commentary on a culture

that places immense value on appearance,

perfection, and gross consumption.

The images I appropriate are often drawn from

sources that present idealized or enhanced versions

of aesthetic beauty. In contrast, I incorporate

ordinary foods —such as deli meats or melted

condiments like cheese or gravy— carefully

arranging them in visually pleasing compositions.

The result is a strange tension between attraction

and discomfort, order and excess, beauty and

absurdity.

These works occupy a dreamlike space where

familiar objects are transformed into something

unexpected. The process itself is meditative and

therapeutic, shaped by my desire to escape

obsessive and compulsive behaviors. Through

repetitive arranging, collecting, and composing, I

create scene-scapes that allow me to explore my

own subconscious through moments of

play and discovery.

Ultimately, I delight in the absurdity of these

juxtapositions. By bringing together unlikely

elements, I invite viewers to question their

assumptions about beauty, value, and the ways we

construct meaning from the everyday.

Artist's Statement no. 2

(ABSTRACT WORKS of

MIXED MATERIALS)

 

My three-dimensional, image-free assemblage

work —affectionately referred to as “trash art”—

is a divergence from the very precise collages I

also create. It allows for freedom of expression in

a messier, more intuitive way. While there is still 

precision and care in how I place materials, I am

interested in elevating the beauty of debris and 

overlooked objects found along roadsides and 

highways, collected along solitary walking routes 

in moments of contemplation much like sea glass 

on a beach at low tide. I am particularly drawn to 

spilled and smashed remnants of car accidents for 

the charged energy I imagine they contain.

By elevating discarded materials, I create beauty

from what is often ignored or dismissed. This

work is a response to ideas I explored in my

college thesis, Art Every Day, as well as the

Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi with its

embrace of impermanence, transience, and

decay. These themes continue to guide my

practice; I aim to pay close attention to man-

made consumer materials typically taken for

granted and thus overlooked, repurposing them.

I began making this work partly due to the habitual 

exercise patterns I follow when my mind is most

distracted,often walking the same roads repeatedly.

Because I often travel with my head lowered, I

have always been attentive to what lies on the

ground beneath my downward gaze. I have especially 

found myself fascinated by broken car headlights and 

other fragments, imagining what they could become 

when thoughtfully arranged.

I have always been a bit of a magpie, and this has

been an empowering and freeing practice —one that 

yields me fulfillment but also, increasingly, some bit

of delight to share.