Abstract

I view my creative process as alchemy, the transformation of materials through experimentation. I use wax as a material that transcends its historical use as a sculptural process for casting and instead, use it for its transmutable qualities to inform content. Because of its plasticity and duality as fragile and resilient, wax is symbolically submissive and assertive. By applying heat, wax can be molded and formed into new shapes. Once it cools, wax reverts back to its natural state; solid and impermeable. I use objects to explore desires of origin and life. Transitional objects, the first “me not me” possession that replaces the mother as a developmental tool, represent childhood within my works. By displacing these objects, I explore how childhood and the body, void of spirit, become uncanny. Inspired by fairy tales and mythological narratives, my work uses symbolism to create art that investigates the uncanny, the macabre, and the ephemeral. It is my assertion that through the use of metaphor and alluring handling of materials my work permits viewers to transgress social limits of taboos surrounding the female body and mortality in order to contemplate a richness of existence.

Committee Chair

Arnold Nadler

Committee Members

Arnold Nadler

Comments

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/bswx-6d84

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Art

Author's Department

Graduate School of Art

Author's School

Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

Summer 8-2019

Language

English (en)

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