Where are you currently based?
Brooklyn, NY.

What led you to create your work, “PinkHair"?
I have always been intrigued by the Victorian images of the invisible mothers. Once I became a mother myself I couldn’t shake the impulse to make my own version of these historical images. “Pink Hair” is part of the Invisible Móðir series.

The series exemplifies the concept of being hidden and completely present in plain sight. I am a myth in the making while chasing the myth of the mother. For me, the Móðir series references the Victorian images, while also referencing the amorphous entity that is a mother. I feel mother non-conforming, unsure of how I am a part of and embody the role, and yet I twist and turn myself into whatever is needed for my child daily. Many former selves are now in the shadows of this bigger thing that has muscled in—mother. The historical photographs of mothers concealed under heavy textiles holding their children in order to capture a photo have always struck me for their comical and creepy lengths mothers go for their children. After having my child, these images feel like the truest record of the chaos wrapped in a bow.

Can you describe your creative process and the techniques or mediums you use to create the work?
I make woven and crocheted wearables and design photographic scenes of masked wearers. My photographic work explores the concept of power and myth through textiles and masks. I draw upon my own cultural histories of mask wearers, elements of power and kink, and historical scenes of concealment. Masks denote power from the unknown, offer a costume for the jester, a shield for the fragile, and freedom from self. The masks, or wearables, are made of scavenged materials ranging in process from crochet, knit, sewn, or woven textiles. My work engages these wearables and collected textiles within a familial folkloric narrative. I am exploring my own lore through textiles and play.

What inspired you to become an artist, and what drives you to continue creating your art today?
I am as compelled to create now as I was when I was a child. I loved to collect things. I had a collection of collections. I loved the find and arranging my many trinkets along my shelves. I was a tinker-er and took things apart, reused, and reassembled found items in my house. Thanks to a packrat mother there was a never-ending supply of things to pour through and discover. Nothing much has changed. I am a forager and a lover of old things. I play with materials and make costumes and arrange scenes. Textures, colors, fashion and costumes have always been my inspiration.

How has your art evolved over time, and what experiences or influences have contributed to this evolution?
My art has evolved as my life has. I’ve been a painter, a printmaker, and for the last decade, a maker of wearable sculptures and narrative scenes. Making masks or headpieces began with making costumes for a friend and it has led me down an amazing rabbit hole of storytelling. Working with textiles has allowed me to blend many desires. I love to forage for materials, reuse and recycle as much as I can. I have a love of rope, especially fishing rope, and the textural draw of handwork. Creating and donning colorful costumes has always been my way of making a fool of myself and becoming something new. Two years ago I became something new again, a parent. That really threw a wrench into every facet of my life. I wanted to create work about the experience and push back against what felt like a tidal wave of energy I was now pouring into my child. The art I’ve made in the last two years speaks to my desire to reclaim and make visible the complexities of parenthood.