BA, Art (Studio Art – Digital Studio Practice)

Artist Statement

“Sense of Self” is an autobiographical installation piece with five main components. First, the Audio component utilizes found noises I recorded throughout Milwaukee. Intriguing but uncomfortable, the indistinct sound speaks to the difficulty of communication. This initial tension that the audience experiences when encountering the piece is paralleling a “first impression” and deciding whether to engage further. If someone so chooses to walk through the threshold of noise and engage with the piece, it’s if they are choosing to engage with me.

Second, are two barriers that separate the outside space and the inside space. Initially the viewer is met with a row of dogwood bushes that obscure the view from the outside. The other barrier is a fence; when one opens it, they are making an active choice to enter my space and get to know me. The masks on the fence challenge the viewer to leave preconceived notions based on appearance behind before entering the space.

Once the audience enters the interior of the installation, they’re met with the sculpture in the middle, images on both walls, and a window. One wall contains images of Milwaukee’s sorted history, the environment that shaped me. A video of current events affecting me today playing on a loop on the opposite wall.

The sculpture in the middle of the space made of found driftwood, dogwood, and other milled wood is a self-portrait. I use wood to parallel the processes of nature and the human body, to reflect the layered aspects of my personality, and to allude to connectivity between people. We are not above nature.

The sculpture symbolizes me, in a raw unfiltered state, unrefined, looking for connection. The sculpture is facing the window, which alludes to the potentiality the future holds.