Atelier 31 | Artists

Going Home

MIXED MEDIA / 2011

I have a tendency to sleepwalk. And one night, near the end of 2010, I awoke midair to discover that I had done so off the top of a long flight of stairs. Moments later, I lay in a heap at the bottom of those stairs, now truly unconscious. Battered, broken, but not dead. After that, how could I not reflect upon on all the things that have made up my life? There are many places that I have called home. Each is a chapter. Each is unique.

This near-death step into nothingness prompted me to create an autobiographical installation: 16 Santos-like sculptural heads sit within 16 houses. Each house has a shelf holding a handmade book in which I wrote episodes from my life. ZIP codes title each book, and they also appear on the sculptures. Drawings on the heads reference illustrations found in the little books.

Beyond this sculptural catharsis I then created two-dimensional works of mixed media, continuing the journey into myself. I played with the idea that when we, for example, return after a hard day or open the door at the end of a long trip, home offers us a tremendous sense of well-being and sanctuary. There is security in having our objects around us, comfort to be had snuggling deep into our own bed. But, ultimately, I came to understand, and express in the work, that the mind is our ultimate home.