I create installations and objects that allude to the apparent comforts of home, to reveal its contradictions, pathos, and bewildering humor. I explore these contradictions through making invented controllable worlds. Compulsive process and obsessive repetition are part of what makes me tick. I am fascinated by how things are made and how taking them apart reveals hidden worlds and the ingenuity of the human imagination.
In my current project, Wearing, I unravel the braided rugs common in old houses, and make them into what they may have been. These rugs, made predominately by working class women from moth-eaten coats, worn blankets and clothing, reveal the tread of humanity going about their daily lives. I unbraid each rug, then press and sew the strips into cloth. The unbraiding reveals a myriad hidden patterns and exuberant hues. Lines of dotted holes indicate the years of tread marks eroding the fabric. Leopard-like spots of dirt pressed into the exposed parts of the rugs reveal human movement through time. The process of making these is something like an excavation, uncovering what the rugs hide in between the braids, while admiring the craft and labor of each anonymous maker. I keep part of the original rug attached to the object, to allude to the cyclical nature of materials and shifting boundaries of the objects.