I make art about monsters, grief, guilt and joy.
My art unearths the side of grief we don't like to talk about. The side where we push our loved ones away, we cling to shitty coping mechanisms, we become self-destructive, or intent upon collateral damage. At what point do we become monsters? Where is the line we draw? My art explores this fragile boundary, unravelling the tender monstrosity of grief through performance.
I create human puppets, where experiencers act as both puppet and puppeteer, to explore the balance between losing and regaining control. The folklore monster masks allow the experiencer to shed their grieving identity in order to welcome the monstrous. These performances are playful, encouraging joy in the face of grief, and acceptance of the accompanying guilt. The somatic movements of play help release grief gently, allowing the emotions to settle into the mountains instead.
Performed intentionally without audiences, these experiences are instead captured in obscure handheld photographs. The photographs preserve privacy and invite viewers to fill in the gaps with their own stories of grief.
