broom and brush sculptures
2016 - present
The everyday broom is an object that is as culturally rich as it is banal. Around the world, it is used in wedding rituals, religious practices and sports. It is associated with witchcraft, magic and has been used as a symbol of feminism and a few political parties. Functionally, it is a tool that does our “dirty work” as it removes things that our society no longer values. The broom sweeps these unwanted things away until it too is unceremoniously disposed of. As a found object, used and discarded, it embodies the untold stories of domestic labor around us, often female and hidden from view.
For this series of sculptures, I collect found brooms and brushes in all conditions and repurpose their parts with custom fabricated elements. I playfully combine dirty and colorful bristles to make new compositions that encapsulate the memory of past cleanings while projecting imaginary functions. Ideas of abstraction, color and light mix with forms of scrubbing and sweeping. Some sculptures have complex geometric patterns that create a kinetic and rhythmic effect – echoing the movement of a broom. Other sculptures mimic forms found in nature to uncanny ends. Each takes on an ambiguous position between functional tool and object of contemplation, creating space for new associations and values.
2016 - present
The everyday broom is an object that is as culturally rich as it is banal. Around the world, it is used in wedding rituals, religious practices and sports. It is associated with witchcraft, magic and has been used as a symbol of feminism and a few political parties. Functionally, it is a tool that does our “dirty work” as it removes things that our society no longer values. The broom sweeps these unwanted things away until it too is unceremoniously disposed of. As a found object, used and discarded, it embodies the untold stories of domestic labor around us, often female and hidden from view.
For this series of sculptures, I collect found brooms and brushes in all conditions and repurpose their parts with custom fabricated elements. I playfully combine dirty and colorful bristles to make new compositions that encapsulate the memory of past cleanings while projecting imaginary functions. Ideas of abstraction, color and light mix with forms of scrubbing and sweeping. Some sculptures have complex geometric patterns that create a kinetic and rhythmic effect – echoing the movement of a broom. Other sculptures mimic forms found in nature to uncanny ends. Each takes on an ambiguous position between functional tool and object of contemplation, creating space for new associations and values.