Diassociation
Meaghan Murray
See it On Campus: Level 1
Visitor InfoYou can find this work by the east facing wall in the Faculty gallery near the elevator and media resources if you enter the building from the first level entrance.
Disassociation
32” x 68”
Mixed Media Work (found images, sewing thread, chicken wire and fishing line)
This work is a reflection of my personal experience and battle with disassociation. I often find myself slipping into a tranquil state where I am deep in thought but unaware of my surroundings and incapable of absorbing new information. Disassociation also creates a disconnected feeling of uncertainty about yourself and your identity, which prompted me to use found images of various bodily forms and figures as I struggle with knowing who I am or who I want to be. It feels like an invisible barrier disconnecting me from my body and the outside world, and this work embodies this debilitating feeling.
Piece #1: The Hanging Frames:
32” x 36”
Found images from various printed media delicately sewn together with a machine to create a quilt/tapestry. Each frame or window has been removed from the picture, allowing viewers to look both at the work and simultaneously through the images of the sculpture behind it.
Piece #2: Head sculpture:
11” x 13”
This head shape sculpture was created in a similarly to the tapestry out of found images from various printed media and hand sewed together through a chicken wire frame. The disorderly configuration of human figures and facial features creates a convoluted mask that is daunting and captivating.
More Images:
Materials + Process
This project emerged out of an idea that I have been wanting to explore for some time, which is sewing photographs together. I began investigating how different materials interact, such as various forms of printed material and textiles. I tried hand sewing and sewing with a machine to interact with the material in multiple ways. I experimented with using cutouts within the images and replacing them with other scrap material from the photographic darkroom process. One aspect of this project process that I struggled with was deciding which form this process and material should look like and function in the end. I tried making a collage quilt, making more miniature photo quilts embedded within a canvas, the cutouts from the found images acting as the canvas surface and various other forms. But in the end, I made the bold decision to use the sewing machine to create an image-based tapestry and hand sewing for the human head sculpture. Overall, this process and material exploration pushed me out of my comfort zone and inspired me to explore sculpture further in my artistic practice.
Artist Statement
Through my material exploration, my artwork mainly merges the physical elements of photography and collage with the textural landscapes of abstract painting. Found photographs and images from various media forms such as books, magazines and newspapers make up the mixed media aspect of my work. Due to the large number of images that circulate in our world, I find a sense of character within previously consumed images and combine images that never have or may have never been interconnected before. I seek images with a previous context or story, and through collage, assemblage and photomontage, I attempt to transform them visually and spiritually. My inspiration is heavily derived from a fascination with history and found images as I try to reflect on the related themes of archival and memory to examine humans’ need for conclusive stories and our tendency to ‘fictionalize’ or romanticize memories from the past. My strong connection to nature, and organic colours and forms, is also a prominent element within her practice. Artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Steven Shearer are evident artists associated with mixed media that influence my current work. Mixed media allows me to blend her interests into an ever-evolving topography that is my creative practice.
