Photo Credit: Ty Allen
My work interrogates the space between fact, fiction, and history, questioning the often arbitrary boundaries between them. My process involves mining family archives as well as public, community centered archives and archives that collect histories of queer and trans people. The act of discovery and uncovering I do in archives manifests in the ways I physically manipulate my work, as I often reveal and conceal parts of my compositions to showcase the constructed and found history I create. To that end, I often dye the surface of an artwork, or draw and paint on photographs to reinterpret the meaning of a recorded image, further complicating the meaning of my works and the meaning of the pieces I am placing together.
As a trans and gender non-conforming individual, everything I create takes root and filters through my own identity. As a result, I often craft combinations of images and materials that create a shared meaning despite their disparate sources, which to me represents the painful juxtaposition between nostalgia and identity. The pieces I make are decisive yet clumsy, a combination of carefully considered elements with the reflexive intuition of quick mark making. My work takes a variety of forms such as collage on paper and fabric, sewing, painting, photography, multi and single channel video, and tailored garments made with the aforementioned items. No matter the medium, I approach all of my work through an archivist and collector’s eye.
morganking9513@gmail.com