ARTIST STATEMENT
Working in analog collage allows me to literally cut into inherited archival imagery, much of it sourced from mid-century publications that normalized obedience, silence, and containment as feminine virtues. By reassembling these fragments, I examine the structures that shaped these narratives and repurpose the imagery so new ideas and perceptions of agency, rupture, and refusal can emerge.
In Behind the Seams, the lips coming unstitched becomes a healing wound, the salve a refusal to stay silent. The thread references how speech has been policed, particularly when disagreement is framed as aggression, disloyalty, or unladylike behavior. The act of unraveling is deliberate and critical, asserting that silence is neither neutral nor benign. An aura of text surrounds the figure, reminding us that change begins by creating and enforcing our boundaries.
Still Whole examines the parts of self and autonomy that have been stripped away, regulated, or denied. Even in loss, we remain whole; not as something finished, but as something actively repairing. The absent fragments are not evidence of deficiency, but as proof of endurance. They mark what has been taken, contested, or silenced, and what is still in the process of being reclaimed.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I am an artist based in Boise, Idaho, working primarily in analog collage and mixed media. My practice centers on recontextualizing archival imagery, often sourced from early- to mid-20th-century publications, to explore themes of agency, identity, and the social conditioning of women. Through deeply symbolic cutting, layering, stitching, and reassembly, I use materials of the past to question inherited narratives and imagine more progressive paths forward. Working under the name Amended Archives, my collage practice is rooted in the impulse to mend, reinterpret, and reframe collective memory.
Each composition begins with fragments of vintage magazines and archival sources, relics from eras when women were often reduced to ornament or ideal. By tearing apart and reconstructing these images, I release figures from prescribed roles and invite them into new archetypal expressions that are complex, empowered, hopeful, and whole. My work has been exhibited in local and virtual group shows and contributes to a growing body of work focused on feminine inquiry, political resistance, healing, and the reclamation of autonomy.
In addition to gallery work, I create collage books, prints, and mixed-media pieces, and facilitate collage-based workshops that encourage reflection, dialogue, healing, and creative agency. I am committed to creating work that is accessible and intentional, inviting viewers to pause, question, and engage more deeply with the images, symbols, and language that shapes our understanding of self and our individual impact.
© Amended Archives