ARTIST STATEMENT
“Keep Your Laws Off” is a commentary on personal choice and reproductive rights. Our little black dress with pearls eludes to the stereotype doll perfect image of mid-twentieth century feminity, the social oppression within that period and the strides made by women to gain the right to choose. We gained that right with Roe vs Wade for over 50 years only to loose it within the current political agenda. Through the manipulation of laws women’s lives and families are being tossed about like so many little doll clothes. Our lives are real, not toys to be played with. So we plead and demand to “Keep Your Laws Off” our bodies. A cry which is manifested in each one of us for equality and personal freedom. Now more than ever, activism, legal action and public pressure are needed to ensure that the right to choose and health protections become a universal reality to all women.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
My work investigates symbolic forms and shapes. I utilize Icons and totems with engaging sociological significance. Primal experiences, nature and personal identity for example, so basic to our understanding of existence, are symbolized in this private world. Contemporary cultural icons are used to enhance or countermand the associations of the figurative images and symbols, emphasizing the dichotomy between physical self survival and spiritual isolation. Utilizing printmaking and collage as an extension of drawing and painting, I have found that in the realm of two dimensional expression that mixed media collage is the most authentic and subjective tool to express my voice. “For me Art is about persistence, a life study and discipline. It is part of my life. If you pursue it a lot or a little at any one time makes no difference…just return to it again and again. Let the presence of touch back into your life and embrace the new with reference to all that you have learned.” Laurel teaches mixed media printmaking and collage in both private and public classes. Her work is included in the recent 2015 exhibitions and publications: “Convergence: The Poetic Dialogue Project” at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art and “City Creatures” at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the publication “City Creatures” by the Center for Humans and Nature, University of Chicago Press.
© Kim Laurel