BFA, Studio Art
Single Discipline Focus (Print & Narrative Forms)
Certificate in Digital Arts & Culture
birdbookarts@gmail.com
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Artist Statement
Crispin
“They can tell their fractured tales…But this is not their story – It is mine.”
Crispin tells the backstory of the witch from Hansel and Gretel through a gender-nonconforming, neurodivergent lens.
On a macro level, Crispin’s story is based on my own experience as an autistic queer woman. I explore how villainous qualities in folklore could be attributed to misunderstandings of non-normative identities. Instead of making my character embody these anxieties in a straightforward way, Crispin is either subjected to these fears herself or directly defies them; she rejects the need to conform to societal expectations.
An atypical Salon-style layout of works on paper and small books on wooden trinket shelves mirror how Crispin might organize her thoughts and assert her agency over the world around her. Gnarled pine branches and sandstone chunks give a sense of tangible environment. Pages inspired by illuminated manuscripts demonstrate the rich symbolism of this world’s ornamentation, while graphic novel pages give a sense of its tempo.
By reading key passages from the story from Crispin’s point of view, viewers get a sense of how she (and, to a lesser extent, myself) interacts with the world. Ultimately, though, the most important conclusion of the story is that the character has no desire to justify herself to others. The arrangement is not a display meant to please any given viewer, but a creative sanctum that they – with a bit of effort – can learn about the experiences of its author.
“But I shall think no more on this. I do not need to tell you why. I do not even need to know why. The fact that I want it is enough, and it shall be so.”
