Curating interior spaces has long been an interest of mine, likely stemming from a grandfather trained in architecture and a woodworker father. Recently installation of my work has become a significant part of my art practice. Arranging objects within my studio or an exhibition space relates to my connection to domestic space. The work featured here comes from an installation I call “Tending,” and is an ongoing project.
Graina (2021), 2-minute looping video with original audio
During the summer of 2021, I began an open-water swimming practice that fed into the creation of my first video piece, the first work of Tending. I created this work in Gichi-gami/Lake Superior using an underwater phone case and a wet suit. The audio is a recording of my own voice humming a childhood lullaby, “One Grain of Sand” by Pete Seeger. Within an installation, this audio helps to create an atmosphere of intimacy, focus, and somatic calm.
The most recent iteration of Tending was on view at the MCAD MFA gallery as my thesis exhibition. For the duration of the installation I tended to the outdoor space directly outside the gallery windows; picking up trash, raking up debris, sweeping the patio, maintaining pots of flowers, and collecting used yard furniture to create a gathering space for gallery visitors and intentionally blur socially constructed lines between art, craft, and domestic labor. The images below record the process of tending to the outdoor space during the slow Minnesota spring of 2022.
