WordlessTale - PushPull

(Click Image to Open Movie)

Artist Statement

This installation uses various mythologies as a means to explore identity, body and change.

Throughout the world’s various mythos water is held as a symbol for an origin of great beginnings, and a location for epic finales. In several Algonquin tribes there is a tale of muskrat sacrificing his life in order to help rebuild the earth after a great flood, according to the Japanese Kojiki, the first land was created by drops of salt water, which fell off a halberd carried by two deities. Water is also commonly used as a source from which knowledge and information can be gleaned – typically at the expense of bodily comfort and wellbeing. The Norse wrote that Odin had to deposit his eye into a well in order to drink “The mead of Wisdom” it contained. A similar tale is recorded in Irish mythology where a goddess is maimed by the waters of a well containing “magical poetic quality”. Myth, however, is not the only place where garnering knowledge is a painful process. In our daily lives we are often faced with decisions regarding staying in the safe haven of what we know already, or taking a risk to explore that which we do not. The choice to take a risk and the experiences, both good and bad, that result are key elements to our growth as individuals. Affection and Aggression are two factors that greatly contribute to our life experiences; they help shape us as individuals, affect how we orient ourselves to others and are a great part of the socialization involved with living. They can both be involved in any of the beginnings and ends within our lives. Warmth and hostility are inexplicably intertwined in our lives, and can be readily confused for one another. The projected video attempts to communicate this confusion; displaying what could be interpreted as either affection or aggression depending on the viewer and circumstances.

The images projected into the water’s surface address the fluidity of identity. It considers how not only we ourselves affect our image, but so too do those sharing our environment. Our physical forms are so easily altered yet they are the primary means by which we identify ourselves, both personally and to others. This installation reads differently for each viewer; depending on what mythology they carry with them, how they choose to interact with the installation, and whether or not there are others in the space at the same time to influence the viewing.



	(Click Image to Open Movie) Artist Statement This installation uses various mythologies as a means to explore identity, body and change. Throughout the world’s various mythos water is held as a symbol for an origin of great beginnings, and a location for epic finales. In several Algonquin tribes there is a tale of muskrat sacrificing his life in order to help rebuild the earth after a great flood, according to the Japanese Kojiki, the first land was created by drops of salt water, which fell off a halberd carried by two deities. Water is also commonly used as a source from which knowledge and information can be gleaned – typically at the expense of bodily comfort and wellbeing. The Norse wrote that Odin had to deposit his eye into a well in order to drink “The mead of Wisdom” it contained. A similar tale is recorded in Irish mythology where a goddess is maimed by the waters of a well containing “magical poetic quality”. Myth, however, is not the only place where garnering knowledge is a painful process. In our daily lives we are often faced with decisions regarding staying in the safe haven of what we know already, or taking a risk to explore that which we do not. The choice to take a risk and the experiences, both good and bad, that result are key elements to our growth as individuals. Affection and Aggression are two factors that greatly contribute to our life experiences; they help shape us as individuals, affect how we orient ourselves to others and are a great part of the socialization involved with living. They can both be involved in any of the beginnings and ends within our lives. Warmth and hostility are inexplicably intertwined in our lives, and can be readily confused for one another. The projected video attempts to communicate this confusion; displaying what could be interpreted as either affection or aggression depending on the viewer and circumstances. The images projected into the water’s surface address the fluidity of identity. It considers how not only we ourselves affect our image, but so too do those sharing our environment. Our physical forms are so easily altered yet they are the primary means by which we identify ourselves, both personally and to others. This installation reads differently for each viewer; depending on what mythology they carry with them, how they choose to interact with the installation, and whether or not there are others in the space at the same time to influence the viewing.