Artist Statement
I make art about women, our social world, and underling it all, about our beautiful planet.
But my art journey begins at the end….my pieces are constructed from the remains of our endangered natural world - shells, bones and dried plant life. Lives that have unfolded and expired beyond my awareness.
But there is still something left of them - an aura of memory, a final testament. This is what directs my process and unfolds through the creation of each piece.
But in the early 2000’s, I began work on a piece that was to send me hurtling into calamity.
I had decided to remake the biblical figure of Adam and reframe his story.
​
No longer about domination, subjugation and control, he would instead reflect an interconnected, symbiotic relationship with the natural world.
​
But through the fine grinding of the mussel shells that formed his body, I was unexpectedly, exposed to some of the very pollutants (mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead) that damage this beautiful planet.
It was a devastating injury. I suffered severe hearing loss, and nervous system damage from which I will never recover.
But in this fragile place, I uncovered a profound empathy for the suffering and sorrow of the natural world, that struggles and cleaves in the wake of human progress and consumption.
My work is now inextricably bound to their urgent message.
Photo credit Marina Dempster