Artist Statement
Artist Statement
Inspired by the malleable nature of young minds and the twisted intricacies of immature adults, the initial thrust for my ideas was a response to historical narratives. Animated tales have been culled from ideas supported by 1970s feminist logic, and the 1940s Doll Tests, a race-based psychological study of Black American youth. I am a storyteller. And my studio practice is an interdisciplinary effort that, for the past six years, has focused on building a body of work and stop motion animation series that explores the surreal nature of daily life while employing a cast of diverse materials, and tan, plastic, Barbie like characters.
My process is a solo initiative that involves writing the scripts, crafting sets, storyboards, and costumes. I record my own sound and control lighting. I shoot, edit, and develop these narratives one photographic frame at a time.
This labor-intensive body of work began as a response to 70s gender politics, and notions of female strength. The grotesque charm in filmmaker Todd Haynes’ Karen Carpenter Story, social interventions by The Yes Men, and the 1993 B.L.O. (Barbie Liberation Organization) have compelled me to funnel a robust ghost into a miniature, feminine archetype.
