Transcendence
Throughout my lifetime I have battled constantly with an idealized view of people I love and care for. From addicts and drug dealers, to narcissists and abusers, I’ve constantly struggled to understand why their physical lives never matched up with who they were to me. Why couldn’t they see what I saw within them? My belief is that those things exist beneath the surface. An individual’s soul is the pure essence of who they are, and this goes back to our early childhood selves. Our souls are eternally trying to thrive, repair and return us to our beginning despite our physical environment. I believe our souls are playful, and carefree. The soul is constantly connecting or trying to reconnect us to this form in any stage of life we’re in.
The idea of a soul has been around from prehistoric times. An essence that is separate from the body but within each person. Ancient Egyptian cultures believed in dual souls, one who would be left, and one who would proceed to the afterlife. These themes have continued and developed through time among cultures and religions. Ancient Greeks believed the soul was made up of atoms just like the body. Christians believe that the soul is eternal and lives when the body dies, an idea shared by many religions. Although the soul is always changing across the world and through time, the idea of the soul seems to connect humanity through individuality.
My work reflects the constant and strong influence of souls that have impacted mine. Each soul is represented with automatic processes, as an abstracted tree. Their holes invite you to see inside them, branches showing attempts at reaching to connect to their physical self. Trees are powerful, free, and constantly grow. The human soul is the embodiment of all of these traits. They’re brightly colored, and whimsical, washed with inks that will fade over time. This leaves the ability to keep them constantly layered in change. These forms bring out the children underneath lifetimes of attachments, illness, and hardships. Our soul is our true self, making its way back to the surface. New colors are added, layers of ink throughout time keeps these sculptures ever-evolving.
