MY PRETTIES

2008

My Pretties is a body of work composed of twelve infant-sized figures assembled from human hair, animal remains, beeswax, textiles, and found materials. These vulnerable, hybrid forms draw on traditions of folk magic and ritual, reanimating discarded and abject materials into speculative bodies that hover between life and artefact.

The work investigates the overlap between creativity, spirituality, and corporeality, informed by anthropological understandings of magic as a system through which cultures attempt to navigate and exert influence over life, death, and the body. It reflects a sustained interest in the persistence of superstition and symbolic belief within an increasingly scientific worldview, particularly where scientific and medical frameworks fail to address psycho-spiritual needs.

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Hair, bone, and other bodily remnants disrupt cultural codes surrounding purity, protection, and the integrity of the human form. These elements evoke both rational and irrational anxieties around mortality, exposing the instability of distinctions between mind and body, life and the afterlife. The figures function as both talismanic objects and unsettling proxies, situated within a space where fear and belief converge.

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My Pretties has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across Canada including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Gallery 1313, Mary E. Black Gallery / Craft NS, ARTSPLACE, Fredericton City Hall as part of the Cultural Capitals of Canada exhibition co-organized with Connexion ARC, Saint John Arts Centre, Gallery 78, and is held in numerous private collections throughout North America. The work was funded by a creation grant from the New Brunswick Arts Board, and developed through funded residencies with the Fredericton Arts Alliance.

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Materials: Found/mixed media, including animal carcass, human hair, various fabrics and twine, beeswax, vintage textiles, miscellaneous refuse, and antique objects.