Sam Whalen Artist statement:

Fueled by hypochondria and anxiety, my practice is an exploration of the mind-body connection. A constant observation of the rhythmic fluctuations between growth and decay. The work that I create is the by-product of hypervigilance spawned from both childhood instability and living in a female body. It crystallizes moments when my control is challenged, such as in times of high emotional reactivity or through autonomous bodily response. I investigate the perspective warping potential in extreme states of pleasure and pain. Through various methods of abstraction, the human form is dissolved. Sometimes it liquifies into a hardly recognizable phantom. Other times it mutates into an abomination. The seemingly distinct edges of the body and mind are actually mutable.

Christina P. Day Artist statement:

In the way that people tend to keep things for too long, or save things for later, I make work that is in the language of the renovated: the couch seat cover tailored to match the seat that is never actually used; trim work painted fresh again and again. Somewhere between using things and trying to save them from ourselves, our efforts create a situation where our things outlast us. I find metaphors about person and place inside of this.

In my sculptural work, I am interested in handling found materials in a way that enhances a quality of inherent history. I work materials to physically fuse a now with a then. Surfacing forms with found material has become an important part of my vocabulary, whether I am speaking in architecture or in clothing, both holders for time and lived experience of the body. The dents, scars, and physicality of previous ownership speak to the mirror materials can become over time. Stabilizing things through solid construction in my building practice is a metaphor for remembering, or rather, not-forgetting.

Secondary Context