
Volume
I : A Re-History__(The Double) EP, Still Unfit for
the Album
|
statement |
narrative
statement |
My
current projects focus on the dislodging of certain
cultural stories, languages, icons, and symbols that
are the dominant voice of collective memory and grand
historical narratives. I am interested in the moments
of intersection where personal memory butts up against
collective memory or a grand narrative asks for the
memories of a history one cannot actually remember.
These are the flickering moments of intersection where
collective memory, the narratives of Western history
and pop culture fail and begin to collapse. It is
within these moments of failure that individuals and
communities can find agency in seemingly insignificant
acts. Where something as simple as a personal memory
is inherently contradictory yet is often a powerful
and most immediate act of resistance.
In
this current collection of collaged drawings I combine
visual language pulled from different narratives of
history and pop culture to build an environment that
is as much about the dislocation of culture as it
is the creation of brand new ones. I have taken historical
and contemporary icons, objects, and images, removed
and resituated them from their common context—past
is collapsed into present and historical tradition
is “remixed” into contemporary pop culture
and the dark corners of history and memory where contradiction,
confusion and ambivalence flourish, are key. Through
the process of reframing, reorganizing, and re-imaging
collective memory and grand narratives a space for
new stories, histories, and memories to be built is
created. I often use symbols such as fabric, pit bulls,
or transportation devices as stand-ins for the figure;
they are all in some way intensely charged cultural
artifacts, symbolic and complex. I rely heavily on
the familiarity of this supposed cultural recognition,
where many of these symbols are rooted. These spaces
are moments that allow one to re-create a personal
and collective space—where misrepresentation,
or invisibilities in history can in fact contain moments
of agency.