Desire is an incredibly potent and pervasive force that has had a profound impact on human existence, shaping both our cultural and biological evolution. As a species, we have become increasingly fixated on indulging in pleasures and seeking out experiences that offer instant gratification, in the hopes of satiating the many voids that haunt our existence. Despite the overwhelming abundance in our lives, we are still plagued with a sense of emptiness - a void that can only be filled by moments of intimacy that toe the line between our carnal desires and the hunger for empathy. Drawing inspiration from the wild and erotic character of the natural environment, my sculptures are abstract forms found in both biology and botany, reflecting on cultural obsessions with beauty and desire.
The aesthetic of my work is wild, excessive, and an overindulgent visual buffet of objects and textures displayed as infectious anatomies. My sculptures are meant to have an inviting and allusive quality, creating an invasively intimate encounter with the audience during their examination. Excessively textured and embellished facades act as a distraction from their pungently visceral contours, striving to capture the intoxicating lure of indulgence and the vulnerability it inflicts on our fragile nature. By creating sculptures that play with and mock the viewers' inability to control their attraction, I intend to capture the visceral experience of our carnal nature as freakishly alien and indifferent, unveiling the awkward, comical, and grotesque moments of desire while flirting with the introverted perversions of being human.
Glass-making imitates the experience of desire and intimacy. Both require vulnerability and a willingness to be exposed. The artist must allow themselves to be vulnerable to the material, just as we must allow ourselves to be vulnerable to the object of our desire. The fragility of glass echoes the delicate balance between the pleasure and pain that often accompanies desire, while the transparency of glass adds to the sense of exposure and vulnerability that is inherent in the process.
Observing the copious amounts of surplus materials generated during glass production had a profound impact on my artistic practice. Though commonly considered as worthless byproducts destined for disposal, I recognized the potential to repurpose these scraps into something beautiful. Working with remnants alongside luxury components prompted me to develop an artistic approach that centers on transforming these disparate elements and imbuing them with new identities, cultivating a practice that results in a physical manifestation of waste from overabundance.
Embracing challenges and accidents that arise during the creative process allows me to approach solutions from unexpected angles without compromising my artistic intent. Instead of solely relying on the innate beauty of glass, I deliberately exploit its obtrusively visceral qualities to both seduce and repel the audience. Through experimentation with various techniques and processes, I aim to challenge the history of glass while simultaneously highlighting the many facets of its artistic and industrial use. Keeping this in mind, I explore and combine all possible forms of glass, such as blown, sculpted, cast, flame-worked, found, and fused, pushing the boundaries of traditional approaches to glassmaking by combining them. The cohesion of different glass techniques and other media has become something innate to my making; it’s what defines me as an artist. It not only allows me to explore the material in untraditional ways but also demonstrates and highlights the multidimensional nature of glass itself.
Rather than adhering strictly to the conventions of glass, taking a multidisciplinary approach allows me to emphasize shared qualities with other materials, creating a coherent expression of a particular idea or aesthetic. Integrating diverse elements and textures to develop an immersive experience captures the gestural and emotive qualities that glass has to offer, expanding the possibilities of what glass can do and be. Through the manipulation of surfaces and materials, a surreal dialogue is created that challenges the audience's perception and erodes the constraints imposed on material identity. By challenging traditional notions of craft and design, and pushing the limits of material relationships, I create visually striking sculptures that evoke deep emotional responses, exploring the multifaceted nature of desire and its influence on our behavior.
