As a Type-I diabetic and an artist I
create interactive performances that comment on the state of personal
and cultural health in the USA. I utilize sculpture, two-dimensional
art, and actions in my performances. I borrow and create symbols
to form a language that audiences use as they navigate my performances.
My actions and performance objects prompt audiences to explore first
hand the methods, ideas, and tools of health and healing. My interest
is in prompting individuals to take a closer look at their own perceptions
of body image, sickness, and health. I move through the audience and
bring about their interaction by using authority and ideas of trust
and anticipation. The outcome of each performance is wholly dependant
on the viewer’s participation and personal reactions.
As a person living with a chronic illness, my awareness of the body-mind
connection is sharp. My performances ask individuals to consider the
many factors that influence health and our healthcare system in the
United States. I explore how our own knowledge and actions affect the
long term health of our bodies and our environments. Our faith, our
culture, and our own abilities directly impact our wellbeing.
Television ads, pharmaceutical industries, healthcare insurance companies,
the FDA, and our government shape our cultural understanding of healthy
living. These entities control the types of healing and healthcare
available to populations throughout the USA and beyond. Wealth and
poverty dictate the health of populations. Knowledge of the common
and alternative systems of healthcare empower individuals to live with
healthy bodies.
We are our bodies. Healthcare is a personal and a universal right.
Healing is a personal and universal responsibility. My performances
ask audiences to explore the very physical nature of who they are. |