The Particularity of Spaces
the particularity of spaces.
private life displayed for the public.
always left with a desire for
the feeling of 'home'
and willing to create it wherever you may be.
we all have our desires.
(its ok, you don’t have to
admit it to me)
In my thesis project, I am exploring the notion of personal space and what particular spaces mean in and out of context. I created a multidimensional project that approaches this idea from many aspects. In the process, I created new environments in public spaces that depict and suggest a private life.
Constructing and transforming locations such as a bus stop, an alleyway, the bridge over a busy highway, as well as a secluded field, into spaces with furniture that are traditionally found in people’s homes, such as a living room and a dinner table, has forced me to speculate on what I consider home.
For as long as I can remember I have been making my surroundings more comfortable to spend time in. Some people describe these actions as adding a “homey feel” to a space. For example, in my studio I have a couch, which seems to create the appearance of a living room more than a space where an artist works. Secondly, my supplies are hidden in cute little boxes and paint brushes in matching little cups. Everything has a cute little resting place, mimicking the way the majority of my belongings are arranged my house. My car sometimes feels like my bedroom with pillows in the back and multiple outfits ready for me, should I need a change of wardrobe on the fly. Often times I feel like a turtle, carrying my home on my back, or in this case, on my back seat.
I started to create these exterior private living spaces as a reaction to my habit of always wanting to feel more comfortable based on the objects and energies that surround me.
This project is also a way for me to examine what I need in order to feel comfortable and ask myself why these material items make my life so much better than my life might be with out them. Am I overwhelmed by objects and a longing for material items? If yes, this makes me feel uncomfortable by admittedly embodying American stereotypes: Excess. Decoration. Ornamentation. And then some. Do I hate or treasure the fact that simple luxuries of a comfortable, albeit materialistic, lifestyle has bonded me to my living spaces?
In an attempt to explore and possibly banish these ever-present feelings of excess, I have transformed the most public of spaces in to my own private sanctuaries. In the process of sharing my sense of home with a stranger walking on the street, I attempt to feel less attached to the items I have used in the installations of home. I have recreated and documented these installations with photographs and have installed my most recent public living space of this series in the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Please, feel welcome to make yourself at home.
