Description

I am motivated by how an object moves through the world, changing in meaning as it is passed down, and how it is cherished as its significance grows. This history of objects has led to my continued exploration of heirlooms. When I witness these historical functional wares in museums, antique shops, and junkyards, I imagine how their previous owners may have affected these objects. As these possessions become more and more mass-produced, our ability to add relevancy and meaning in this way separates each object from one another. Outliving its owners, metal withstands its daily use, revealing evidence of wear by the dings, scratches and patination that can be read on its surface. I see this accumulated layering of worth as far more precious than the most valuable of materials. Finally, once a metal object has run its course it can be scrapped, melted, and cast, ready to be made into a new object. I believe that the past still lives within the new object. That nothing is lost, only given a new history. By deconstructing and reassembling found silver-plated tableware into new images I am able to commemorate the individual’s ability to do the same to his/her own valuables and memories. By fabricating a new form out of many fragments from stylistically and historically related objects, I create a new image of what that object means to our society, a representation that takes all memories of its use into consideration. Dissecting these objects, altering their form, and piecing them into commemorative wares there is still some semblance and evidence left of their past incarnation.