Exploration of materiality and accumulation via the buildup of meaningful items culled from piles of collections, junk and tools left behind by my late father. Inspired by his legacy and by Robert Rauschenberg's iconic Combines of the 1950s and 60s, these pieces mine themes of nostalgia, family history, loss, memory, and decay.
MFA Thesis Exhibition Maine College of Art & Design May 2023
"Detritus Accumulatus" — Installation view 1
Installation view 2
Installation view 3
"My Dad's Detritus: Junk Drawer, Virginia Apples Box and Other Stuff" 8’6” x 7’5” x 22.5” Assemblage of oil, acrylic, wooden drawer, billiard ball, plastic egg, electrical tape, saw blade, window frame, shag carpet, ice scrapers, clock, ornament, caster, mechanical manuals on paper, canvas tool belt, screwdriver, carpenter square, pencils, cardboard box, work light, carpet-covered lightbulb, level, tub, newspaper, glass, metal, and miscellaneous hardware—on two birch panels
"My Dad's Detritus: Junk Drawer, Virginia Apples Box and Other Stuff" detail 1
"My Dad's Detritus: Junk Drawer, Virginia Apples Box and Other Stuff" detail 2
"My Dad's Detritus: Junk Drawer, Virginia Apples Box and Other Stuff" detail 3
"My Dad's Detritus: Granite Wall" 5’1” x 7’1” x 11” Assemblage of photograph printed on canvas, newspaper, leather work boot, work glove, chisels, carpenter square, level, lawn chair webbing, reflector, pencils, markers, tin can, reflective stickers, tape measure, wood, plastic, miscellaneous tools and hardware, oil, and acrylic—on birch panel
"My Dad's Detritus: Granite Wall" detail 1
"My Dad's Detritus: Granite Wall" detail 2
"My Dad's Detritus: Washer Nut Totem" 10.5” x 15.5” x 14’3” Assemblage of granite, metal, and plastic
"My Dad's Detritus: Washer Nut Totem" detail
Two-sided paintings of acrylic and photographic prints on multiple panes of clear glass, in wood frames in wood-and-metal armature.
Front (or rear) view: Acreage (top), Watch Out Blue Toilet (middle), Searching for Your Light in Bleak Winter Sunset (bottom) Painting dimensions: 24” x 18” Overall dimensions: 3’1” x 6’9” x 18-1/4”
Rear (or front) view: Acreage (top), Watch Out Blue Toilet (middle), Searching for Your Light in Bleak Winter Sunset (bottom)
"Detritus Accumulatus" — Installation view 1