Rhythms Of Healing: Mending Takes Time
A complete look at my first solo show exhibited at Gallery CA, Baltimore, MD in April 2022.
Baltimore City - Station North A&E District
A complete look at my first solo show exhibited at Gallery CA, Baltimore, MD in April 2022.
Healing has never been a straight line. It ebbs and flows. Here I look back at the progress I have made in both physical wellness and appreciation for my body as it is in each moment. Individually each piece of this tryptic marks an important point within my healing process. Together they speak to the cyclical motion of healing, rejecting the notion that progress happens without interposed reflection.
Using reclaimed threads from my previous works and mixing them into paper pulp, I build a surface that becomes symbolic of how the past can impact you in present time. The figures in red represent the unseen inner world. A raw and unfiltered response to the intense sensations running through my body, along with the strong emotions that go with it. Whereas the figures in full color offer a more complete view. A conduit of converging experience.
The past few years have been laden with loss. In my grief, it felt that if I closed my eyes, I could reach out and touch what I was seeking; to make the immaterial tangible. Then reality takes hold, making it clear that no amount of willpower can bring back what time took.
When confronted with the notion of ‘Rest’ as an idea, I find myself conflicted. What was spurring this feeling of hesitation towards rest? Rest is generally thought of as being a state of inaction, yet for me it takes a significant amount of effort for me to settle my body into restorative Rest. Laying still, in bed, my body wakes up to the wear and tear I have forced her through during the day, but ignored out of fear and necessity. In my piece Entwined Repose I sought to capture the history of movement as I toss and turn, searching for a place of comfort. In the act of accepting rest I find strength in vulnerability.
Studies drawn in the development of "Entwined Repose" examining the movements made searching for a compfortable resting pose.
View Katie's favorite works from other Baker Artists