Memento
Memento
Artist Statement:
My Memento piece is based on a memory from several years ago in Colorado. Hiking with my uncle and sister, we witnessed a dog fall into an iced over pond. As the ice was very thin no one could walk out and rescue the dog. Feeling helpless and scared, all I could do was watch the event unfold. The dog's owner was yelling for the dog to swim over to the bank. All I remember is the dog gripping the edge of the ice and the overwhelming bleak colors of the landscape.
While creating Fateful Decisions, I reflected on this moment in my life where I made a choice to just watch the struggling dog. Although there was not much to be done without risking the safety of anyone else, I still feel confronted by my lack of response to a drowning dog. I wanted my piece to commemorate moments in life when decisions must be made. Am I a bystander or do I take action? This decision haunts me; however, the dog did make it to the bank alive.
The three materials used reflect the natural landscape as well as the fragility of life. Beading line dangles from the thin plywood frame and beeswax beads drip off the ends. Just as there were two paths to take in this scenario, I created two layers or areas in my Memento. The surface layer of the ice, and hence the decision to help the dog, reside on the upper part of the piece. The lower layer, or the choice to ignore and just watch the dog, is represented by the dangling line and beads. They are the unknown strings of fate that lie below the surface of the icy world.
Research:
Lenka Clayton
Aaron S. Moran
Judith Scott
Fateful Decisions, Plywood, Beeswax, and Beading Line, 5.4"X 4.3"X .3"
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