Artist Statement

My insatiable need to collect and hoard has manifested into a practice of collage and assemblage. The accumulation of things, intrinsic to collage, has instigated a mindset for deconstruction and repurposing. It provides a practical means of maneuvering a global and contemporary terrain saturated with imagery.

Ubiquitous throughout my practice are images of birds. Birds are prehistoric capsules of time, endemic to specific areas of the world. Birds are icons of nationality and the embodiment of the spiritual. With Bird collage, drawing and ceramic translation, I present a self-portrait and family tree. The bouquet of birds recalls the regional splendor of the American Midwest and Brazilian Pantanal; paternal and maternal places my heritage have intertwined. The culmination of the parts are manifested into a multi-perspective, metaphorical queer self.

contact: thejergarver@gmail.com