COMFORT

I used collage as a medium to transform existing images of cold, desolate landscapes into ones that show humans placed amidst them, in the strange and seemingly supernatural. They become a metaphor for the untraveled places and new territory we find ourselves in as we explore life. Encountering the unknown can be a flourishing transition, while its uncertainty can cause a degree of fear when we distance ourselves from our usual comfort and stability. Actually acting out this fear disappears with maturity, making this emotional vulnerability best portrayed through children. I use children to symbolize the fragility and vulnerability of the psyche when placed in disorienting spaces and the subsequent need to seek out comfort. While all the figures show they have found something that physically protects them, some still seem to seek something more. The symbolism of this idea is personal to me in that I find it through spirituality and faith in Jesus, though humans search for comfort in various ways. I consider the figures’ desire for shelter, warmth, and something stronger than themselves as symbols of serenity that I seek through spirituality, while the use of sublime in my work points to a relationship with the divine.