Slough Off Series Statement
Following my recent collage-based explorations of the endless and fascinating transfigurations of both natural forms and the human body, my first series of sculptural works uses artificial nails to fashion scaled, serpentine structures whose seamless colourful spirals suggest transformative life forms and a transcendent but also politically-engaged aesthetics.
Within the open, ritual-like manner of my practice—in which repetition and accumulation guide the work toward an unplanned-for, uncertain result—the fundamental building block of the fake nail revealed itself as the perfect iterative unit in this protocol-based and yet discovery-driven, spiritual process. As in my previous work, new bodies emerged using the smaller parts of other bodies—fashioned through the trans-like state I enter into, in blind faith, with complete trust that the material, when the parts are pieced together, will come into full, whole life. A new magic emerged through the three dimensionality of these sleek, sinuous, surreally natural life forms—an intangible life force that reflects the complex, mysterious dualities of existence: matter and spirit; stasis and dynamism; fragility and strength; the seen and the unseen. My hope is that the work ushers viewers into a clearer relation to this fullness.
Enigmatic, snake-like, without beginning or end, these sculptures are far from merely eye-pleasing. In material form, they represent the magical power and infinite potential of both our lives and our multiple realities. Further, they expose a rare form of self-expression and self-care, a deceptively powerful tool of survival disguised by the seemingly shallow or eccentric beauty too often misunderstood as futile feminine decoration. Nail art has become a massive global industry, but importantly it is one that supports multiple oppressed and marginalized women for whom a successful independent business hinges on this mainstream trend.
Unrealistic beauty standards can be oppressive and discriminatory. However the freedom offered through nail art is revolutionary, both in its endless expressive potential and its broad accessibility with respect to age, race, gender, cultural background, health, mobility, or budget. The human nail is a protective, useful physiological adaptation. To layer on a personally-resonant glossy burst of colour, for instance, is to layer on additional significance: strength and resilience are combined with the beauty and soul force that fuels any fight for survival.
These pieces remind us, though, that as global environmental stewards we are still far from achieving a truly sustainable way of being. In addition to celebrating feminine expressiveness and the collective human spirit, this assemblage of biomorphic sculptures reminds us that other creatures continue to suffer as a result of human exploits. In the case of endangered species, just as with those people who are suffering, marginalized, and oppressed, the vulnerability is matched by strength and resilience. But might we get to a point where the chain of oppression ends—where beauty isn’t mainly in the battle?
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