ARTIST'S STATEMENT

My experience of metamorphosis as a transgender person permeates my practice, and so my sculptures act as a tangible story of transformation. I stitch together my queer identity with “women’s work” by combining the figure, self-portraiture, and wearables through the use of textiles and beadwork.

I utilize a method of “freestyle stitching” as a resistance to the use of patterns, which frees me from adhering to a formulaic approach in my work. This technique directly correlates to queerness; by defying predetermined societal expectations, I liberate myself by redefining and reconciling my relationship with gender.

In traversing my sexuality and gender, I engage in a playful nostalgia by reimagining some of my favorite childhood characters and toys. In revisiting cherished components of my youth, I am able to foster compassion towards a former self that I had previously loathed. I create my own mythology of creatures that reflect upon my history and invite the viewer into experiencing these physical representations of personal vulnerability. Treating myself as both subject and armature, I alleviate the tension between my body, psyche, and desires.