Description
ARTIST STATEMENT
During transformative moments of my life, I find creating a self-portrait helps me visually express my physical, emotional and psychological state of being. There is a meditative centering that occurs when you are both the artist and the observer of the artist. When the physical body manifests a health condition that is suspicious, a crisis can ensue; it is you and not you trying to grasp the possible diagnosis. What will the outcome be, will I be bought back to wholeness, and ultimately will I survive?
While my maternal Grandmother did survive her breast cancer diagnosis, my eldest sister was not so lucky. She and I had developed suspicious lumps in the same year and although my biopsy results were benign, hers were not. She valiantly pursued all the surgeries and therapies offered at the time but succumbed to the disease six years after her initial diagnosis.
To date I have had four various types of breast biopsies, the last a year ago in July. Every time I have my annual mammogram and ultrasound appointment, I am balancing on the fine edge between health and disease. There is a period of suspension where doubt and hope combine; the dice is rolled, and I wait for the outcome to be revealed again and again for the rest of my life. The intent of my art work is to convey the mysterious state of being in between these two worlds.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
As the daughter of artistic parents, Erin McNamara’s exposure to the fine arts began at an early age. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and moved to West Virginia at the age of 8 when her father began teaching at a liberal arts college. Erin pursued a career in the arts attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, her parent’s alma mater. After receiving her BFA, she was awarded with a Fellowship to study at the School of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. Upon returning to the United States through a series of serendipitous events and her knowledge of ceramic sculptural arts she began working as a journeywoman for the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Union in the field of historic architectural restoration in Chicago. In 2018 Erin was asked to become an instructor for her Union training center passing on her knowledge to apprentices and journeypersons. Erin has exhibited locally and nationally and continues to pursue her creative ventures wherever they take her.
© Erin McNamara