She’ll be late

 

Lewis Carroll’s Alice follows a rabbit down a hole and into an inverted world inhabited by characters who challenge her sense of who she is and what she knows. Through various means, she changes size on a dozen occasions. Her recitation of lessons learned in her previous world—multiplication tables, poems, and other information—is similarly altered. What was once sensible is rendered nonsensical. What was once normal is no longer.  But she eventually begins to find a new self and to form a more fixed identity, mirroring the process of adaptation to challenges in the midst of upheaval. 

 

My project envisions Alice’s journey as a way to explore a different kind of transition—the move into one’s final decades. The work relates a loose narrative of a woman who enters into this new world. After some exploration, she begins to wonder if escape is an option. In pondering the possibilities, she builds models and creates tools that are intended to help her realize her plans. But she can’t really use a ladder made of cloth, or a painting of braided hair. The dark hole is flat, the circles never-ending. The rain isn’t real, nor are the snowflakes. What once was stable is now weak. What was once a given, is now a guess.

 

As Alice notes on her own adventure, “How puzzling all these changes are!”

 

This presentation brings together diverse media and approaches that, while recently produced, reflect a lifetime of varied pursuits in art-making. Inconsistency is something I’ve decided to embrace because conceptually and practically, it fits.

 

“Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I’ll come up—if not, I’ll stay down here till I’m somebody else.” I like Alice’s attitude.



 

Installation view
2021
left wall in gallery 1, Whitespace Gallery
She looked up from inside and saw the night sky
2021
mixed media on dyed linen
24 x 24 inches
Installation view
2021
back wall in gallery 1, Whitespace
She saw all kinds of lines and shapes as she descended
2020
ribbon and embroidery on silk and rayon
12 inch diameter, 60 inches high
detail, She saw all kinds of lines and shapes as she descended
Installation view
2021
right wall in gallery 1, Whitespace
Installation view
2021
back wall in gallery 2, Whitespace
She tried, but every ladder was inadequate
2021
mixed media on canvas
47 x 40 inches
detail, She tried, but every ladder was inadequate
detail, Who am I then? Tell me that first and then if I like being that person I'll come up, if not I'll stay down here 'til I'm someone else
2020
embroidery on cloth
1 x 65 inches
detail, Who am I then? Tell me that first and then if I like being that person I'll come up, if not I'll stay down here 'til I'm someone else
detail, She made a ladder out of scraps, but it was only a gesture
2020
scraps, thread, batting
96 x 19.5 inches
Installation view
2021
right wall in gallery 2, Whitespace
She thought if she made raindrops, they might encourage a downpour
2021
mixed media on linen
62 3/4 x 44 inches
detail, She thought if she made raindrops, they might encourage a downpour
2021
mixed media on linen
62 3/4 x 44 inches
Installation view
2021
Partial view of left wall in gallery 2, Whitespace
She thought if she made snowflakes, it might actually snow
2020/2021
mixed media on linen
62 3/4 x 44 inches
detail, She thought if she made snowflakes, it might actually snow
Installation view
Left wall in gallery 2, Whitespace
Installation view
Gallery 1, Whitespec
Installation view
Front wall in gallery 2, Whitespec
Practicing Snow
2021
Mixed media
31 x 30 inches
detail, Experimental Snowflake
2021
Seed pearls, beads, ribbons, thread, and fingernail polish
26.5 inches long
Installation view
2021
Back and left walls in gallery 2, Whitespec
Possible Rain
2021
paint flakes in jar
3 inches high, 3 inches in diameter
Installation view
2022
Front and right walls in gallery 2, Whitespec