House-Spaces and Dreamed Places: A Visual Investigation of Home
Date
2015-06-22
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Abstract
As an artist, I explore the collection of visual fragments that define for me the essence of home. My project is inspired by the philosophical writings of Martin Heidegger and Gaston Bachelard, the architectural theory of Christopher Alexander, and the quilt work of the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. I’ve explored these various perspectives to investigate how objects, landscapes, and architectures combine to craft what I call house-spaces and dreamed places.
Through the process of recollection, I produced map-like drawings and small drawings of house-spaces. I used translucent handmade papers to embed domestic objects. In another suite of drawings, I used paper I’d made from my father’s discarded cotton t-shirts. The conceptual development of this body of work was directly connected to the technical process. Printmaking allowed me to create multiple images that I could incorporate throughout the pieces to stimulate further imaginative processes.
The contradictions that accumulate through juxtaposed architectures initially disorient the viewer. Through my process, I’ve found that these multiple viewpoints are necessary to suggest how it might feel to physically inhabit these places. Our origin spaces influence who we are at the most basic level. An origin space may be our first home, or more simply the space we leave each morning and return to each night. To simply exist within a space is a superficial experience. To truly inhabit a space is to live within it and activate it through use and experience. Through interaction with these objects and spaces, we learn about ourselves.
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studio art, papermaking, printmaking, house, home, bachelard, gee's bend, heidegger, drawing