Abstract:
In What's Left Behind/What Still Remains, I explored the usefulness of traditional
metalsmithing processes and forms to properly express contemporary concerns.
Reflecting on traditional metalwork objects, I realized our contemporary culture lacks
comparable heirloom and ritual objects to mark life events. Using a variety of
metalworking techniques, I produced a series of sculptural artworks, some wearable,
some not. The sixteen art pieces that comprise What's Left Behind/What Still Remains
were fabricated using a variety of techniques to form individual components, which were
then assembled the final artworks. Art, no less than life, derives from a physical and
intellectual investigation of the world. The goal of this body of work was to present a
series of objects to function as memorial objects; art pieces capable of providing an
environment in which the viewer can engage empathetically with the occurrence
represented therein. Threshold moments are appropriately experienced within liminal
spaces; I sought to create that space through these art pieces.
