Anna Warfield : Word Salad : Two Parts

Work on display at the Creative Spirit Community Arts Center until March 6th.
Work on display the the Downtown Artist Cellar until March 5th.

My work is queer.
It’s both straightforward and unclear.
It’s a processing of identities – many of them.
It’s about how we communicate; the words we use and don’t use.
It’s about unlearning what we’ve been socialized to understand and expect.
It’s nonsensical sense.
It’s the space in between definitions.
My art is soft whimsy tinged with a biting reality. I reclaim methods of making typically coded as feminine (i.e. fiber, sewing, knitting, and dyeing) in combination with original poems to broach complexities in identity, understanding, and unlearning.

Existing beyond neatly defined borders and categories, my work explores communication and settles into the spaces we can hardly find words for; asking us to push through discomfort and find ease in uncertainty. I write poems, at times in concert with the community, and translate them into soft sculptural objects reminiscent of learning tools.

I work mainly with fabric – dyeing, cutting, sewing, stuffing, knitting, and suspending it to create soft and inviting environments. Informed by elementary learning devices and play, the forms and visuals are reminiscent of concrete poetry, word searches, ball pits, MadLibs, mobiles, bubbles, and soft children’s books. These visual cues invite viewers into a nostalgic conversation that ultimately challenges understanding and stirs more questions than it provides answers.
The color and material choices underscore my interest in conversations around identity. Fabric, historically associated with “women’s work,” is ripe with associations I ask viewers to question and unlearn through my practice. Similarly, shades of pink and blue offer an entry point into evolving conversations around gender.

I’m fascinated by language, word choice, and the fine line between individual and collective interpretations. My work considers etymology and the shifting meaning of words over time. My practice is a means of exploring the breadth of associations we both collectively and individually have with words. I look for the tipping point between clarity and nonsense; personal and collective (mis)understanding.

My work ranges in scale from intimate hand held fabric books to large public installations. At times the final form is dictated by the language and at other points the form invites the language of the work. The range in work is the result of a responsive practice that seeks the best vehicle for communicating the underlying idea.

Any artwork left in the possession for 3 months after the close of the show becomes property of SLC Arts. 

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