Artist Statement

An important aspect of my work is to acknowledge that the human body is ultimately another aspect of nature, not distinct nor separate from all other creatures and lifeforms on the planet. I explore this through practicing and performing Masukhuma in site-specific, and especially remote, natural locations. I seek to express the interconnectedness and interdependency of all living matter. Having begun my artistic journey mainly as a figurative visual artist, my larger focus has now shifted to the development of Masukhuma. Working directly with my body, as well as guiding my students in this technique on their own internal journey, allows for a deep exploration into the ways in which each human life affects, and is affected by, the larger web of existence. By merging the body with various environments - both natural and created - I explore issues of attachment, over-consumption, climate change, waste, and ephemerality. 

I often perform in costumes and installations made of found and recycled items such as discarded paper, used fabric, glass bottles, organic materials, and many other items. I collect various materials, especially dried plants, and food scraps (such as avocado skins, banana peels, and citrus skins), to create garments, wearable sculptures, and installations. To make use of these items normally thought of as  “compost” or “debris” opens the door to new questions about what we value, save, and consume. Respect for what the Earth provides us with has been obliterated by so many people in modern society. This depleted awareness of the sacredness and essentiality of nature has created the climate crisis that we now face. My art seeks to rekindle the lost respect for the Earth, for the flora and fauna, for our own bodies, and for each and every body of our fellow human beings, appreciating the uniqueness of ethnicity, age, gender identity, color, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability. 

Having worked from the live nude model for hundreds of hours, I have developed a deep appreciation for the human form; for its complex structure and aesthetic beauty, especially revealed in the aging body. But beyond aesthetics, the nude body expresses fragility, vulnerability, and the great struggle to survive that all lifeforms face. By exposing the nude (or semi-nude) body in both my visual and performance work - in movements, postures, and situations that are often grotesque, uncomfortable, unconventional, and irregular - I seek to break the long ingrained habit of sexualizing the body (especially female). Stripping the body of its identity and connotations created by conventional dress, it can become an ageless, timeless, androgynous shape-shifter, transforming into various characters, archetypes, human or non-human beings. 

My work seeks to offer both viewer and practitioner increased awareness of the universality of impermanence, resulting in the cultivation of intention, empathy, and compassion in all aspects of life.