Melanie Weaver

Domestic Wars
mixed media assemblage
30 x 14 x 5 in.

“Toy Narratives” is a body of work I began in August of 2001. It is mixed media assemblage work, using black texture paste as the adhesive agent. The texture paste molds around each found object, encasing it in a plastic shell. The objects I use in my assemblage work reference childhood and domestic life, from plastic toys to kitchen utensils. The juxtaposition of various objects creates narratives that encompass childhood, war, domestic violence, trauma, healing and spirituality.

There is a resolution and acceptance that is arrived at throughout the artistic process, and that peace is evident in the Madonna figure at the top of each work. The Madonna reaches out one hand in blessing, a covering over any chaos in the objects below her. The halo surrounding the Madonna’s face is created with domestic objects such as curlers, clothespins, heads, etc The implication is that there is a spiritual resolution that can be found within the domestic: arena, after domestic violence has been vanquished. There is an exalting of form found in the mundane, a healing of the soul and an empowerment in the process of depicting the wounding and the healing.

© Melanie Weaver