I use the term “memories once removed” to refer to people and events someone was either not alive to experience or too young to remember, but has inherited nonetheless through the construct of family identity. This series speaks to the omitted nature of memories, especially those passed down and imagined through family lore, that co-author our personal narratives.
Once Removed: Three Women. 2021 // Mixed media painting on canvas // 16 in. x 16 in.
Once Removed: Torrence, 2019 // Mixed media oil painting on canvas // 14 in. x 11 in.
Once Removed: Ashley, Nora, Erica & Kate, 2019 // Mixed media drawing on paper // 40 in. x 50 in. (framed)
Once Removed: Self Portrait II, 2019 // Mixed media drawing on paper // 42 in. x 42 in. (framed)
Once Removed: Autumn, 2015 // Mixed media canvas // 36 in. x 40 in.
Once Removed: Self Portrait I, 2015 // Mixed media on paper // 13.5 in. x 10.5 in.
Once Removed: Kris, 2016 // Mixed media on canvas // 13.5 in. x 10.5 in.
Once Removed: Jenny, 2016 // Mixed media on canvas // 13.5 in. x 10.5 in.
In Thymesia, childhood images of my mother and her siblings interact with strange animals drawn by scientists before the advent of photography. Although these scientist-artists sought truth, they created fiction instead, drawing bizarre creatures that reflected their own limited knowledge and memory more than the reality of the beast they sought to capture. This desire for knowledge, and the futility of limited perceptions, echoes in the construction of our own self narratives. Extinct and endangered animals also appear in the series, chosen for their geographic relationship to the children.
In the Yard II, 1951 and In the Yard with Topsell’s Gorgon, 1951 & 1607, 2018 // Mixed media on paper // 13. 5 in. 11 in. ea
Kathy In the Yard, 1951 and Bechstein’s Hippo, c. 1800, 2018 // Mixed media on paper // 13. 5 in. 11 in. ea
Kathy in the Yard II, 1951 and Bechstein’s Hippo II, c. 1800, 2019 // Mixed media on paper // 13. 5 in. 11 in. ea
In this animation, whales morph into bizarre, early scientific illustrations. Before photography, researchers relied upon memory and guesswork to draw studies of animals. Today, much about whales—including the nature of their songs—remains a mystery. As noise pollution threatens whales’ abilities to communicate to find their pod, mates, and food, we risk relegating whales to the status of memory and image—permanently.
LED display
FILE – Electronic Language International Festival
Sao Paulo, Brazil 2018
The Earliest Memory Archive is an audio archive housing people's first recollections of self, from all over the world. Visitors can listen to recordings of earliest memories, or submit their own. The collection booth is currently at New York University Abu Dhabi. The project will soon be accessible online.
In Vestige, I removed floor panels to reveal childhood items from the early and mid 1900s, some belonging to the children in Thymesia. The installation, as part of the solo exhibition Thymesis, was in Project Space gallery at New York University Abu Dhabi (UAE) in the fall of 2019.
Vestige: Doll, c. 1930s, 2019
Vestige: Baptism gown and cap. c. early 1900s, 2019
Vestige: Antler part, date unknown, 2019
Vestige: Toy Cars c. 1940, 2019
Aldrovandi Remembers Them references Aldrovandi Alddeer’s drawing (15th c) which features a deer with strange, cornucopia-esque antlers. The deer’s skin is composed of old family photographs. The taxidermy form lends an air of the “scientific”, just as the source drawing by Aldrovandi was made in the vein of scientific illustration. Taxidermy practice also alludes to society’s trophy- and luxury items-based relationship to animals, and the resulting damage of animal populations. Extinction is the permanent relegation of a species to the status of memory.
Aldrovandi’s Alddeer Remembers Them, 1642 & 1950s, 2019 // Mixed media on taxidermy foam mannequin // 150 x 57 x 36 cm
East Chop Beach Club, 1985, 2019 // Looped projection onto sand 2:24 mins // Installation dims vary (pedestal)
(two images)
East Chop Beach Club Again, 1985, 2018 // Looped projection onto sand 2 mins // Installation dims vary (buckets)
(one image)
Before, 2014 // Looped projection 2:14 mins onto black canvas // Installation dims vary (canvas)
(two images)
Sleeping Paralysis I, II, III, 2011 // Looped projection // Installation dims vary
(3 images)
"Necessary Confabulations" imagines an alternative history in which women's expertise and intellect are as sought out and nurtured as those of their male counterparts. We create composite images showing women who never met, paired with captions from articles that were never published, imagining conversations that might have been. This project was made in collaboration with Jenny Lederer.
Jane Jacobs and Jane Birkin, 1969, 2019
Jane Jacobs (left) and Jane Birkin (right), leaving a meeting of London’s Concerned Citizens Against Slum Clearance (CCASC). Birkin invited Jacobs to speak on her experience spearheading similar initiatives in New York City and Toronto. The CCASC task force plans to continue to fight the demolition order which would level seven blocks of historic Lansdowne Gardens and force out life-long residents.
FULL STORY on F14
Jane Fonda and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1973, 2019
Caption reads: “New York -- Actress and activist Jane Fonda hosts Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Columbia Law School’s first tenured female professor, at her upper west side apartment. United by their advocacy of women, the two sat down with our reporter to discuss the newly passed Title IX of the Education Amendments, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools.
Zora Neale Hurston and Marilyn Monroe, 1956, 2019
Writer Zora Neale Hurston and actress Marilyn Monroe on a Sunday drive in historic Daytona Beach, where Hurston received the Bethune-Cookman College Award for Education and Human Relations.
Earlier prints:
Frida Kahlo and Amelia Earhart, 1935, 2017 // Alternate image, embossed // 8 x 11 in.
Caption reads: Kahlo and Earhart delve deep on their Sunday drive, discussing FDR, the Franco dictatorship, and Cardenas, not to mention their own soaring careers.
Sophia Loren and Chien-Shiung Wu, 1957, 2017 // Alternate image, embossed // 8 x 11 in.
Caption reads: Actress Sophia Loren and Professor Chien-Shiung Wu, aka "The First Lady of Physics," pause for lunch at the Four Seasons. Loren and Wu are spearheading an initiative on behalf of imprisoned Taiwanese journalist Lei Chen.
Shirley Ann Jackson and Janis Joplin, 1967, 2017 // Alternate image, embossed // 8 x 11 in.
Caption reads: Dr. Shirley Jackson and singer/songwriter Janis Joplin (center) relax on the steps of MIT’s Kresge Auditorium after their join presentation on science and activism. “Physics for Pacifists.”
In this series, each artwork is an homage to artists who have depicted the female body, or engaged with it, in a way that resists oppressive norms. I copy elements of the work in a drawing on canvas, isolating the subversive power of the gesture, and compose anew. My deepest gratitude to the women who authored the original works.
Gestures of Resistance for Jenny Lederer: Body Election in Red // Mixed media drawing on canvas // 40 x 58 inches
Gestures of Resistance for Artemisia Gentileschi: Susanna’s Torment // Mixed media drawing on canvas // 50 x 40 inches
Gestures of Resistance for Jenny Saville // Mixed media drawing on canvas // 60 x 40 inches
Of/f Course highlights the dangers of global warming and a looming future of severe water scarcity and rising temperatures. Commenting on the environmental impact of golf courses, the sand-covered hole also encourages players to consider the implications of building and maintaining water and resource intensive golf courses in the middle of the desert.
The mini golf hole was part of David Dart’s project, “Putting for Pleasure and Politics” and showcased at NYUAD (Nov 2018) and Al Quoz Art Festival in Dubai (Jan 2019). It featured nine holes by invited artists.
"Present Tension" was experienced by appointment in May 2015. Participants signed up with a partner, or were matched with a stranger, via an online sign-up service. They knew only the information on the page: partners follow a loose set of instructions interacting with objects in a gallery space in a sensate exploration of sociality. When the two participants arrived, they were welcomed and given instruction cards, then left to perform Somatic Studies in private.
