Buried Memories

BFA Exhibit: Artist Statement

This installation was both an artistic honoring and a memorial. From November 2021 to December 2022, I lost three grandparents (and a grandpa in 2016). I didn’t get to say goodbye to those who passed, therefore I constructed a body of artwork that speaks to their importance to me. These pieces become a plush celebration of their lives, the memories shared, forgotten crafts, changed traditions, and the stories they can’t tell anymore.

My artistic process focuses on bringing light and happiness to something sad and difficult for my family. This body of work is emotionally and artistically inspired by the cleaning out of my grandparents’ house. At first glance it might be overwhelming but if you take the time to look you start to notice important things, beautiful things that bring back happy memories. They lived in the same house for over fifty years and my grandma held onto a lot of things she thought she might need.

Overtime, these things were buried, forgotten about, and collected dust like the overgrowth of my plushies. I call them plushies due to their comforting feeling like a stuff animal for a young kid. Some of these forgotten things are included to show a visual narrative of their time in that house. The colorful variety of fabric, gathered from my grandma's own collection is used to create a symbolic representation of different family members that shared those memories and experiences.

Using these materials reminds me of the time spent at their house and different cartoons I used to watch. Some of these popular color schemes can be seen throughout the plushies. Even though the plushies share colors like families share memories, they're all unique. The buried colors represent the things that got lost overtime. Some of these colors might not be visible right away but if you "dig" longer you'll see the lost layers. The installation is an interactive piece with it’s various moving pieces and the flowing strings to show the viewer what it’s like looking for buried things that are sentimental.

Amongst the plushies are childlike drawings relating back to some of the first art kits my grandpa Kenny gave me as a kid. Created using cheaper markers and twist crayons. Some of the yarn groupings are hung using inventive ways similar to how my grandpa Ron would hang things on the wall, or balance things with the possibility that it might fall. Like stacking pieces from erasers to hold up his wooden cross.