My work is an exploration of the psyche in the form of painting and drawing influenced by print media, collage, and performance. While riffing on themes of gender, fairytale, and masquerade, I play with the relationship between control and catharsis, visualizing the body coming out of itself, exposing not only one’s guts but one’s internal state--one’s emotions, one’s craziness--in a way that can seem both pleasurable and painful. I draw from my personal background (especially my origins on a cranberry farm in New England) as well as literature, mythology, dance, and costume. My subject matter derives from a large archive of images which I collect and also create from my own performances. Recent interests include expressionist dance movements (specifically German Neuer Tanz and Japanese Butoh), mythological human-animal hybrids, and the words of surrealist artist Unica Zürn. I use alternative media and surfaces to emphasize a visceral mark. The spill of ink on nonporous, translucent drafting film (a.k.a. mylar) refers back to the body permeating beyond its own boundaries. The fluid is juxtaposed with collage elements; using solvents and other transfer methods I directly appropriate reference images from my archive. In recent installations, I suspend works throughout a space, making use of their translucency and presenting them as double-sided paintings that immerse the viewer in their own world. In other series, I paint using cranberry juice, which refers to my background and to the body in an abject narrative. I exploit the staining effect of the juice on antique linens or pillowcases.
