Happy Anniversary, MORPH!
The making-of story hasn’t been shared until now, 1 year after MORPH debuted! I had set a goal going into 2020 that I was going to compile, organize, and share my experience creating/presenting it before the spring but then my depression spiked in tandem with the rest of the 2020 chaos. Alas, it is what it is. But here we are and I have finally compiled > organized > and am sharing. No need to give me a gold star, I’ve already given it to myself. ;)
Here we gooooo!
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It’s been 1 year since I presented my second body of work, MORPH, to the public. It was a complete labor of love, a budding idea that I tended to for a year or so. My process for creating a collection of work has always been fluid and I rely on inspiration (who ain’t no timely bitch!) for the initial decision to pursue it, even if it takes over a year to refine it.
My first exhibition was called Jaded and it was designed to be an experience that the audience followed from start to end, watching the story arch unfold with each piece/poem. A story of pain to healing. The making of the show itself was a form of healing—the ideas and connections kept weaving their way into the work as if they had a mind of their own.
So when MORPH ideas started brewing, I would save voice memos (some of them are in the making-of video below :P), take pictures of things that inspired me, sketched some ideas, had an organized mess within my mind, my phone, and my art studio.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show and/or the artist statement, here it is to give you a little extra context:
“As human beings, we love to classify our lives in terms of chapters, stories with beginnings and endings. In Jaded, my first solo show, I took a complicated, jagged time in my life and wrangled it into a narrative so that I could process it and triumph over it. I put my path from heartache to healing on paper so I could close the book on it.
That upheaval became the cocoon for the next stage of evolution: MORPH, a multimedia experience that explores life’s in-between moments. Where Jaded traced a progression from pain to peace, MORPH embraces a nonlinear view of growth. Creating Jaded led me to the conclusion that there can be no self without the full spectrum of emotion, and without self, there can be no art.
MORPH takes that conclusion one step further: art isn’t restricted to the endpoints, the finished products. It lives in the imperfect striving, the process itself. I once thought of Jaded as a clear-cut, one-way journey, but MORPH re-contextualizes it as just one part of my transformation. This journey is ongoing and expansive—not necessarily to be broken down into a beginning, middle, and end, but simply to be lived.
After all, art exists not just in the butterfly, but in the metamorphosis.”
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I remember one of the first times I started entertaining the idea of another show, I was visiting Portland, OR and I saw these giant butterflies on display in a department store window that were accompanying some expensive purses (whyyy didn’t I take a photo for moments like these???). I didn’t care about the purses, I cared about the feeling of seeing those butterflies for the first time while slowly going down an escalator, watching as they got smaller and smaller
I was encompassed in the creating of the show. My art studio was lined with bits and pieces of ideas. I would day dream of concepts and ways to apply/evoke certain feelings. After a few months, it started coming together and the intention and concept began ironing itself out.
It was a whole world that was blooming into itself, almost like I was just there to bring it here physically. I wanted this project to be more collaborative than Jaded, so I brought one of my best friends Alexis (also the architect of my house!!) for the logistics of a hanging installation piece and Laura Von for an accompanying video.
The installation was called “Nest” and was composed of a bunch of suspended yarn orbs (think: abstract nests. Nest = home. Yarn material = familiar, safe, comforting. Home = familiar, safe, comforting. Yarn nests suspended in the middle of a large gallery = elusive, unfamiliar, thought-provoking—in case you needed a little nudge towards why it is the way it is and what it was intended to mean. But also it can mean whatever you want it to mean. And stepping off of soap box….now). I had decided on the name before I knew how it would actually happen (and if the gallery would let me even do it) and what material to use, how to suspend it, etc. etc. I wanted it to demand attention and transform the space for those who got to experience it in person.
Then, the motion visual was a whole other beautiful beast of its own. Laura really fuckin’ nailed it. We had a few meetings to really solidify the look/feel/intention. It was initially going to be an element that tied in a bunch of different concepts that were within the rest of the show, but was refined to being a piece of the puzzle, not the whole puzzle itself. Have a look:
The full motion visual was projected on a wall that was surrounded by hand cut butterflies that served as a vignette to the piece (thanks for that idea, Priscilla!)
I put my heart and soul into this show. I also made the decision to host two events: an opening and a reception. In theory it was a great idea. But it took a toll on my body; I was sick the night of the opening and was still recovering the night of the reception. (BTW, I was fueled almost exclusively by Soma’s Dr. Dee’s Tonic Juice—if you’re ever sick and need a miracle to soothe your throat, it’s a must if you’re a Bloomington local). I think because I was consumed by the show, I worked myself to total exhaustion. Even though my voice was horse and my body was bone-tired, the whole experience was incredibly humbling. It was completely fulfilling to see the support and appreciation from friends, family, and the community.
As for what’s next (a question that was asked many times by MORPH attendees)…I’m not sure LOL! I know sometime in the future I will have another show but currently I’m working on beefing up my online home and taking it easy on myself.
Watch the full “Making of MORPH” below! And if you’re really vibing with it, scroll to the bottom to order one of the MORPH sweatshirts or Limited Edition MORPH Exhibition books!
