Altar, 2023

Altar, 2023 is the physicalization of complex emotions as an Interactive installed of soft sculptures.

You can go inside a hanging soft sculpture to be surrounded by lit up shades of green, crystals, dripping ribbons, and knotted fabric inside this largest ‘Nest’. Hanging around the largest Nest are long hanging robes all tied up in ribbons holding clusters of small Nests together. People are encouraged to gently reach inside the Nest clusters to bring out the sculpture within them. 

People are encouraged to gently reach inside these smaller ‘Nests’ to bring out and hold the sculpture’s ‘Magical Creatures.’ attached to the nests by ribbons. You can go from being able to cradle them in the palm of one's hand to being able to wrap your arms around them. They are visual and tactile tools for acknowledging what is already inside of you, the ability for gentleness, care, and love for your emotions. 

Notes

Nest: Safe place to rest and restore energy.

The sculptures have They/Them pronouns.

Exhibited at

SAIC Galleries, Chicago 2023

Publishing

Altar, 2023. MFA Thesis, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL, 2023.

  • Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. We Should All Be Feminists. Fourth Estate, 2014. Bourgeois, Louise. “Archives.” Storm King : Browse Archives. Accessed September 2018.

    https://collections.stormking.org/Browse/archival/facet/rel_entity_facet/id/128.

    “Catchy Educational Songs for Kids.” Hopscotch. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://www.hopscotchsongs.com/.

    Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham’s encyclopedia of magical herbs. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2016.

    Da Silva, Denise Ferreira. "On difference without separability." Catalogue of the 32a São Paulo Art Biennial,‘Incerteza viva’(Living Uncertainty) (2016): 57-65.

    Federici, Silvia. Caliban and the Witch. Autonomedia, 2004.
    Forward, Susan. When your lover is a liar: Healing the wounds of deception and betrayal. Harper Collins, 1999.

    Hoff, Benjamin, Ernest H. Shepard, and Fungki Kusnaendy Timur. The Tao of Pooh. New York: Penguin Books, 1982.

    hooks, bell. "All about love: New visions." (No Title) (2000).


    Kondo, Marie. Spark Joy: an illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up. Ten Speed, Press, 2016.

    Kondo, Marie. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Ten Speed Press, 2014.

    Laozi, Tzu, Dwight Goddard, and Sam Torode. Tao Te Ching the book of the way. {place of publication not identified: Ancient Renewal, 2021.

    Lieberman, David J. Never be lied to again: How to get the truth in 5 minutes or less in any conversation or situation. Macmillan, 1999.

    Lorde, Audre. The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. Penguin UK, 2018.

    Aria, Émeri. Altar, 2023. MFA Thesis, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL, 2023. (p.53)

    Moraga, Cherríe, and Gloria Anzaldúa. “La Guera.” Essay. In This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, 22–29. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2021.

    Probyn, Elspeth. "This body which is not one: speaking an embodied self." Hypatia 6, no. 3 (1991): 111-124.

    Taylor, Sonya Renee. The body is not an apology: The power of radical self-love. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2021.

    Taylor, Sonya Renee. “What Is Body Terrorism?” The Body Is Not An Apology. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://thebodyisnotanapology.com/about-tbinaa/what-is-body-terrorism/

    Ukeles, Mierle Laderman. "Maintenance Art Manifesto, Proposal for an Exhibition,‘Care’." Rpt. in Conceptual Art: A Critical Anthology, edited by Alexander Alberro and Blake Stimson (2000): 122-125.

Introduction

They are gentle magical creatures, so be gentle with them. Even the slightest physical move needs to be done with care, attention, and in a consensually aware way, this is their vibe.

Magical Creatures in Nests & largest Nest

SAIC Galleries, Chicago 2023

Magical Creatures

Portrait’s of Magical Creatures in Nests

Posters

Book

Documentation of the Process