Social Injustice

I have always been curious about "Place and Travel" .My journeys began at an early age and this insatiable curiosity about cultures
and travel has given me the main focus of my work. Social justice and working with various communities from victims of domestic
abuse to prisoners, seniors and people with learning and physical difficulties in the UK and the USA. Various residencies e.g. Spain, Wales,
England, Nigeria and the States of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, S.Carolina, Delaware and the State of Maryland have resulted in social engaged Projects.  

Transylvania

In May 2015 I was an INSIDE ZONE resident artist in Borsec, Romania, a town at the base of the Carpathian mountainous. Throughout my life I had heard stories about my mysterious ancestral land of Transylvania.

During my urban exploration of the town’s crumbling villas, hospital and surrounding area, I took photographs. When I returned home I assembled frames from a few objects I collected there in addition to other materials from my studio. I created the odd sized structures first and then placed the archival pigment photographs inside the frames.

Vanitas

In my work, I use materials from daily life, objects that have cultural associations and points of reference for viewers. I explore the tension between the cerebral concerns of minimalism and an investigation of humanity: emotional, spiritual, symbolic, and narrative. At its core, the work is a meditation on entropy, time, loss, decay, renewal, and survival.

Light Emitting Studies, 2015

Bonnie Crawford's Light Emitting Studies 2015 consist of hand stitched soft sculptures, painted wood, cheap craft materials, and electrical circuits. The electronic components used to control the lights are free form soldered as elements of the sculptural composition. Tiny sensors in the circuits respond to the ambient light in the room to alter the rate of the blinking lights.

Paintings

I develop paintings in conjunction with fabricating my sculpture.
Early on in the paintings a historical image becomes the basis or foundation for adding elements needed to build my sculpture. Materials used ar collage, painting, drawing and stenciling.
These works provide me with a clarity of ideas and a blueprint for fabrication while offering flights of fancy.

Wood Cuts on Collage

The works in this section are wood cuts with collage on paper. Thematically, they mostly represent body parts. The empty chair has been a recurring symbol. It has many meanings, including waiting, loneliness and leadership. My life changed when I was diagnosed with stage four lung and brain cancer in January of 2016. It's been an uncertain adventure.
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