“Gentle alienation” is one of more apt phrases I have found to represent my artwork in recent years, especially as I shift my focus towards fabrics and soft sculpture in my practice. I depict my recent endeavors in quilting and embroidery as a journey towards the soft underbelly of my own identity, while at the same time splicing and suturing representational forms to denature and reconstruct their meanings. This method of creation feels reflective of my trans identity, specifically the notion of first taking something apart in order to put it back together with a reimagined meaning. The process itself is instrumental to the meaning I aim to develop through my work. In particular, I seek to confront our perception of what a “natural” body at rest is or can be, and what that means for trans bodies in particular. I use printmaking as a space to reflect the alienation between appearance and intention in my body through the relationship between matrix and finished print.

I am honing in on the idea of care in my work at this time. Specifically, I have been fixated on the impending reality of my own journey to gender-affirming surgery. Sewing is a practice that can be both artistic and medical; but it is also a meaningful aspect of my mother and I’s relationship. This project is a monument to my decision to get surgery and a commitment to my recovery and identity, but it’s also a tribute to my mom. It’s an exploration of my hopes and fears recontextualized through the language of my mother’s handiwork and legacy on me and my art. It’s a monument to care all the way through, before, during and after.