Artist Statement

Love as Form of Life

 

“I love you,” is one of, if not the most, used phrase in my vocabulary. I say it all the time, but I love love. I practice art as a form of love - love of life, others, earth, myself, death, humanity. I work to find the love within, and give it to the world in more tangible forms.

 

Love is a commitment, a connection to something often without reason. The greatest piece of wisdom I have been given is that the most important love is not romantic love. Once I allowed myself to find this commitment to myself, I found love everywhere. Self love guides my practice, but I want to share it with others. I believe we have many loves in our lives. I create in search of these.

 

 I have found true love in my friends that have turned into my sisters. The way my roommate’s laughs ring through the dorm, the sun spot on my dorm room couch my roommate likes to sit in, the way in which we hold each other in times of sorrow, the grit one shows day in and day out to make it in this world - all are love. Through art, I want to share these loves, even the painful ones, with others. Without death, there is no life. And without pain, there is no love. There is love weaved into the darkness that by lighting my self love, I can find. 

 

Finding radical self love takes consistent reflection. It takes sitting with my own thoughts, experiencing solitude, yet finding the joy within these. Self love, to me, is integral to acceptance. How could I ever expect myself to truly accept others if I cannot accept myself?

 

As an artist, I work in the everyday medium to perform. I am drawn to the performance of everyday life: gender, appearance, actions, and of course love. Every morning when I begin my day, I dress knowing that whether I choose so or not, my appearance and energy will perform ahead of my ability to consciously do so. I see life as a performance art, with appearances of intentional performances throughout. I want to be subversive, but with love. I create physical pieces of clothing, pages, notes, and accessories that perform for me. Objects have energy, and I create them to lead my performances. I act to find myself as an artist. Through acting, I draw into the depths of myself, spending time alone and reflecting on my own emotions and actions. Acting is an art form of its own, but I have found it as an aid to my creative process as well. If I can act out the right stories, the true ones, the ones meant to show love, I can direct society towards love.

 

I want to help artists create while shaping my own art. I believe that bringing my love for life into my work, I can shift the values of people. Radical love is needed, and I cannot fault someone for acting in their nature. However, I can create discourse, and hopefully a more loving planet. Because maybe, just maybe, serendipity will bring a little girl a lot like me at a time like me who needed the veil lifted like me to true and radical self love.

 

​