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ARTIST STATEMENT I
celebrate the fragility of matter and drive to reveal the splendor of
its residue. Considering my human presence, impact and relationships,
I study matter and its course of decay and growth. By impulse and instinct,
collecting is part of the motion. My objective is to heighten an awareness
to presence, essentially through paying attention. The
making of any object contributes to its meaning. Most things in my work
begin with a 'surface archaeology': limitless discarded fragments and
random specimens are gathered. The objects carry their own history of
function or raw form, yet they also track my journey, marking memories
-- both lost and still recalled-- as well as relationships. Numerous
thoughts and concerns set a person to working. Sometimes merely the
routine of doing something builds, until one day you look back and see
it threatening to consume you. Once the menace is realized, one is supposed
to decide whether to lay down and let it take over, or abandon the habitual
human tendencies altogether-- to purge. Then does one fixation not get
replaced by yet another? Therefore, I convince myself that part of the
human condition is, by design, perpetual challenge with constant risk
of self-destruction. My sculpture echoes the thought and study of comparable
questions and contradictions present around and within me. I confront my concern for relentless, naturally evolving change. Through experimentation, I mark time and movement in physical form. The mediums, cloth, felt or paper, carry evidence designating moments of transformation. The processes of hand-felting, papermaking or printing, inherently speak of time and body. Water, as vehicle and medium, is a primary component. Whether forming paper, transferring a mark or facilitating loose fibers into felt; it is flux embodied. The acts of wrapping, wetting, washing and rubbing lead to the sheltering of a worn or weathered object. Simultaneously this causes further wear in the process. Repetition, in act and form, promotes examining and realizing the temporal. Residue builds and surfaces accumulate, layering labor with memory into warm, organic and muted forms. The results of this ritual are set forth as compilations for others to consider; often for their handling, causing more change still. Arrangement formally organizes the remains into a chronicle for remembrance. The quiet yet still shifting commemoration rejoices the complex beauty of ruins. Toni Matlock
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