LIFE SERIES (1994 -1995)
The sickness and death of a close friend resulted in this series of charcoal drawings. The treatment and processes undertaken in the attempt to save my friends life were aggressive and intrusive. I appreciated the advanced technologies that might save her life, yet I resented what felt like an invasion of her body and soul. The tension between my two responses resulted in drawings about physical and metaphysical inner spaces, and excavations of the deepest and most fragile recesses of body and soul.
These images reference the body and what we might see if we were to cut into its interior spaces. I explored the contradictions presented in treating and healing through invasive and violent procedures. I let the images take on the organic shapes that felt more natural to them. The act of cutting and tearing the pieces was reminiscent of surgery, and it felt more visceral to have the cut edges exposed. The images themselves became objects that were nailed to the wall.
