Pupae

 

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Felted wool & silk, servo motor, Arduino, mechanical components, resin skeleton​

7" amorphous spheroid​

Indication of moving, breathing life inside the cocoon​

Video Link (54 seconds):​

https://youtu.be/0f4ZrWFQrNw​

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          I observe, deconstruct, and reconstruct my environment and self by giving myself the kindness and care necessary to give my environment the quality of care I idealize. This process is driven by trauma-informed embodiment practice with a focus on self-care, boundaries, memory, and thriving ecosystems. Looking outward, I am inspired by the resilience I witness throughout life, particularly nature’s persistence - from vast ecosystems to tiny caterpillars - despite the ever changing climate. I examine deeply personal issues which I tread carefully through the exploration of and modification of boundaries in my own life. Everything I create is a self portrait, from projects utilizing biofeedback to performances in which I am literally breaking things - my fibers are also being shaped into a version of myself with whom I am more content to exist within. I am an organism which relies on my environment, and I have the power to transform both.

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          This series of wool & silk felted cocoons, titled Pupae, utilizing digital technologies and mechanics to create an indication of a living, breathing pupa within each cocoon is part of my trauma-informed embodiment practice as a multidisciplinary sculptor. Pupae embodies the liminality of both being and not being. In nature, the pupa is an individual undergoing metamorphism, a transformative process of rebuilding the body during a reprieve from external interaction.  A pupa is no longer a caterpillar, but the pupa holds the same DNA as the caterpillar body in which they once walked. While they were still a caterpillar, they had to prepare themself by gathering sufficient nutrients and finding a safe place to build their cocoon. Once they emerge, they are still extremely vulnerable until their wings are dry enough for flight. 

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          To hold one of the Pupae evokes a unique response within each member of the audience, ranging from care and compassion to calmness and preciousness to fear and bewilderment. Pupae also evokes questions. What is inside? How does the caterpillar trust that hiding in a cocoon is the right choice? Does the pupa know what is to come? How do roles shift between each chapter in life? What does it mean to exist within the space of leaving behind the familiar?

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