Sarah Kindl, Relief Printmaking

small pile of family photos scattered on a pea green rug

Date and Time

Mon Oct 5, 2020 12:00pm

Artist Statement

In my mixed media installation, I am allowing the viewer to experience my childhood home as it exists in my rawest emotional memories. Wood grain relief print panels are arranged to create a theatrical backdrop for heavy metal posters and a window view looking out on a typical night in the trailer park. Papier-mâché creatures hide in corners, magnified from their actual size to illustrate the overwhelming presence these vermin had on me as a child. Personal keepsakes from my original home are juxtaposed with found objects to create a direct connection to a place that now only exists in memory.

Creating this environment allows me to address otherwise unresolved trauma. Much of my childhood consisted of unwanted sexual and emotional experiences, so recreating the setting of my childhood on my own terms allows me to write a new narrative of my personal history – one where I am in control of my sexuality, identity, and pain. Like many people, I have moments in the past that I want to both address and avoid, and in making this installation it has allowed me to reconcile those two opposing needs.

Image: Double Wide (Detail). Collection of 35mm photographs / Variable dimensions

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