Artist Statement

Spill is comprised of four collections that emphasize and exaggerate the accumulation of objects in our personal spaces and examines the categories of objects that are piling up. Modern western culture tends to emphasize the acquisition of objects, while de-emphasizing the responsibilities that come with acquisition, including use, care, storage, removal and disposal. With increasing frequency, the objects found in contemporary homes are spilling out of their assigned spaces and into common living spaces, creating a tension between order and chaos.

Our household items are cultural artifacts and show how we live and what we prioritize now. I have created sculptures out of everyday objects to remove literal associations and to question our familiarity with the things that surround us. Individual objects can have multiple uses and functions. While objects can seemingly hold a place of permanence to us, our relationships to them are evolving and ephemeral. After we have parted with a possession it can be re-used, it can be made into something else or be interpreted as something entirely different by being placed in a different context. Michael Thompson’s “rubbish theory” provides a critical framework for this. Thompson’s theory explains the cycle through which objects lapse from useful items into trash, and then, through time, gain value again. Each collection consists of static objects, but is made to imply motion. Spill examines categories of objects that we collect and explores how they accumulate, how we attempt to maintain order and how they can have purpose and existence after their time with us.