Cognate/Corrupt: Artist Statement

Artist Statement:

            I'm consistently fascinated by gore and physicality. Through this project I explore memory degradation, physical degradation, and how our bodies interact with materials in conjunction with how our minds interact with memories. Both the mind and the body serve as containers for memories. They hold the relics of past lovers, memories, functions and interests. Mind to lovers, body to cum. Mind to trauma, body to scars.

            My chosen organs to sculpt are skin, intestines, lungs, brain, and the heart. My materials have been chosen to reflect the state of the physical and mental when holding onto memories and substances for too long. Memories become warped, they decay, and are unavoidably altered. Like wounds, they fester and worsen if irritated and prevented from healing. I'm interested in materials that can convey this degradation. Wax, burnt plastic, gels, foam, liquid latex.

            For each of the organs I sculpt, there's a photograph corresponding to it. Whatever matter the organ is associated with is represented in the corresponding photograph. Diseased, warped matter interests me. It seems somewhat fanciful in a revolting way. The matter is not shot on its own, but rather how it interacts with the human body. The surface area covered by the matter increases based on importance of the corresponding organ. The brain interacts with memories in a greater way than the lungs do, so brain matter covers more area than lung matter ever could.

            The sculptures and photographs exist as two parts of a whole. They're reflections of the effect that memories can have on the body and the mind, and the effect that the body and the mind can have on memories.