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As humans, with all of our technological achievements, lush recorded histories, and complicated societal rules, we see ourselves as separate from animals. Yet at our core, we’re governed by the same biological needs. My work explores the modern human at a basic level: a complex animal which must contend with its ability to reflect on its own existence. In melding the human figure with that of an animal, I divorce the human being from this notion of separateness. The figures I create take on contorted and vulnerable positions, contrasting with visual elements perceived as frivolous: pastel colors, bows, Rococo design motifs, and other frills. With this, I highlight the ways in which we brush aside raw feelings and hardships, behaving as if nothing were amiss and masking unpleasant truths of our existence. We forget that we are animals. We conceal strong emotions, deny our basic bodily functions, and even deny death. All the while, hiding weakness is an incredibly animal thing; this behavior is seen across many species in order to protect themselves from being hunted, killed, and consumed. 

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​​I work in sculpture and installation to give my ideas presence in the material world. The viewer must exist in the same space as the work, feel the weight of the bodies, and process them from multiple vantage points. I’m drawn to the physical work of sculpting with clay, creating forms by making direct skin contact with the material with little to no intermediary tools. The process then reflects the content in that it contains both brutal and delicate elements: first using muscle to create the overall shapes and then shifting to a more tender, meditative approach to render fine details. I work in traditional materials such bronze and porcelain in order to draw on their ties with antiquity, adding modern finishes such as acrylics and nylon as an acknowledgment of the unstoppable passage of time. 

 

​​​​Within all of this, the role that personal history plays in my art cannot be ignored. My experiences as a queer, mixed race, white-passing Latina raised by an alcoholic informs my work when it comes to themes of trauma, belonging, identity, concealment, and sexuality.