Description of Work

Flower - 2022 - Yellow Bronze casting with copper attachment - Not For Sale

Splat - 2022 - Sterling silver casting and attachment - Not For Sale

Beard - 2022 - Steel jump rings with copper attachment - Not For Sale

Plate - 2022 - Sterling silver casting with copper attachment - Not For Sale

Shuttlecock - 2022 - Yellow bronze casting with brass attachment - Not For Sale

Ameoba - 2022 - Copper sheets and attachment - Not For Sale

Artist's Statement

My main area of interest as an artist revolves around three dimensional artworks. I have worked with several different mediums, but my focus is on metals and jewelry. Working with small scale metals and making jewelry are my studio preferences because the physical experience of doing so allows me to put my whole body into each work. Each piece emerges from creatively engaging my own energy. There is more movement in the processes and gives me a sense of control. As an artist who uses metals, I have to be able to adapt and to be open minded enough to let go of my initial vision and see where the new direction takes me. My current work is a series of labrets, a type of body modification that are more commonly known as lip piercings. To complete this series, I have been using a combination of fabricating forms through cast metals, as well as sheet metal and wires. The materials I use for the casting method consist of various found plastic objects, as well as carved wax figures.

As the series has continued, I started off with an attempt to connect with family culture and the past. A large portion of my family is from Mexico, and I was immersed in that culture as I grew up. I tried to show this connection in my first lip cuffs. I later broadened my scope in terms of inspiration and started researching other civilizations. I wanted multiple interpretations of the same idea to pull from for my own work. I think this has allowed me to create new forms that could be connected to the civilizations I have researched, but at the same time have been tweaked in different ways. The series is ongoing, and I am always researching how other cultures used the same basic structure and materials for similar purposes.

These labrets are symbols of status in each of these cultures. They are worn by men and women alike emphasizing everything from their strength as warriors to their duties as a wife. This status is emphasized by the placement of the cuff on the mouth and in some cases extending past the chin. The mouth is an important aspect in wearing these lip cuffs. There are various meanings connecting the mouth and labrets, including blocking negative energies from entering the body and highlighting the place shares stories and ideas. I think this focus on one of the most important features of the face is essential to my series. Each cuff is front and center and accentuates the lips and chin area. These cuffs are also meant to be temporary unlike the traditional labret. My intention is for them to be able to be interchangeable with other cuffs. Allowing the wearer to express different types of status based on the visual context that the cuffs provide. Also, as I have progressed with the series the cuffs have enlarged and been exaggerated to amplify their importance. This enlargement or awkwardness of the cuffs can prevent the wearer from easily using their mouth. This interruption to the typical roles of the mouth is part of the presentation of the cuff. The wearer has to take this into account when wearing the different cuffs.

If you wish to purchase any of these pieces, please contact the gallery director, Jacqueline Nathan (jnathan@bgsu.edu.)