Prosthetic Hand 2
In 2016 I severely injured my dominant (left) hand on the same day I had quit my day job to pursue my art career; after seeking medical attention, I spent over a year wondering whether I’d still be able to make art. In that time I began to consider those less than fortunate enough to recover from such an injury and -in the case of those born in centuries past, what options a person would have if that injury meant paralysis or amputation (both options I feared greatly). I then became very intrigued by antiquated prosthetics and the form/function of the human body from a place of both fear and reverence. This painting is a response to that fear and reverence as I used the same potentially disabled hand to create what may have been its possible replacement in a different time.
Tricep Study
Breaking down parts of the human body to their basic functions and reimagining their form is a core part of my artistic practice. I have a predilection for examining materiality and how that relates to our understanding of a given object or, even, our own bodies. With this in mind, I created this piece in order to reimagine an otherwise recognizable muscle/bone structure and parallel its various organic aspects with inanimate (human-made) materials; I wanted to redefine the rigid, structural nature of our bones and the electrically-induced, work-performing network of our muscles. For this purpose, I often reference anatomical diagrams/schematic drawings to allude to the idea that these images might also serve as teaching materials.