I am tormented by aesthetic seduction — by what I can only call the romantic. My practice is, broadly, through haptic intuition, a processing of the look of wealth, of sex, of romance, and most importantly of power. 

Jarred by the history of European imperialism and expansion, and disgusted by the colonial fetish object, I come to European canonical works of art with terrific skepticism — something that sits right beside my weakness for the art historical. This frustration between desire and repulsion is the fodder for my work. But the result, when executed well, is a relief valve for the existential pressures that historicity forces us to confront.

This almost sexual frustration I have toward the illusoriness of the trappings of power produces uncanny, comical interpretations of a European past. What I make feels familiar, intoxicating but also wrong. Formally, I use cuteness, bizarre anthropomorphized forms, and layers of gaudy kitsch within my work to achieve this effect.  In doing so, threads of contemporary realities can easily be seen throughout, not just reflections onto a European past. In this way, my work ends up being a part of an honest discussion around gender, power, inequality and, most potently, whiteness.

New Orleans — now my home — has proved a rich environment for this inquiry, offering daily immersion in the language of romantic semiotics and the living complexity of European colonial inheritance.






Born: Suburbs of Akron, Ohio

Early Education: B.S. Applied Math, University of Akron

Early Career: Informal Mentorships in Folk Art, Mountains of Western North Carolina

MFA: Tulane University, New Orleans

Identity: Queer White Woman