Discretionary Monuments

Muriel Condon

Sean Heiser

In my practice I employ print, craft, and the symbolism of objects to examine the interaction of food and fabric, poverty and divinity, domesticity and digestion. I impart ritual into my work by examining personal objects and the inherent human interaction of eating, surfaces and repetitive action. My current work uses the soft, organic, common-place tactile language of daily ceremonies and food consumption. While fabric has been a primary material for my practice, the cultural and sociological implications of multiple materials, such as actual food substances, repurposed scraps and internal stuffing matter, are a driving force for my visual decision making. Investigating reference to the figure without narrative, I explore memories of textures, tastes, beliefs, domestic altars, plates of food, and ephemeral touch.

My work considers relationships between abstraction and representation. Appropriations of signpainting and other imagery come from daily life. The paintings are devised formally, and explore the role imagery and text can play in abstraction, as signifier, compositional element, and mnemonic device.