Melissa J. Craig

ARTIST STATEMENT

Dependence (noun): a need for something or somebody to be available in order to exist or survive. (Encarta Dictionary: English (North America))

The dependant does not have ultimate control over his or her life. A face without a name. Every minute of every day is plagued by a lingering feeling that the dependant owes someone. The dependent is helplessly indebted to another. Perhaps that other person is a relative, a parent, a sibling, a close friend, a spouse, or a significant other. A dependant does not truly own his or her freedom. The dependent questions whether or not freedom is deserved. Can one break free from the cycle of dependency? Can a dependant become independent?

Feeling hopeless or neglected, unable to catch a glimpse of themselves in the mirror, the dependant may seem to be trapped or at a stand still. Satisfaction is within arms reach, but something holds the dependant back. Fear, unchallenged fear, stands between a dependant and his or her freedom.

The dependant, a favorite worn chair, is contained by a freshly sifted flour outline of a box. This box must not be disturbed. The dependant has attempted to wash away feelings of inadequacy and self doubt with a bar of soap. His or her true identity rests on the soap as remaining strands of hair. The words "YOUR NAME HERE" are repeated across the lower part of the three-walled room, but nowhere a name. The words are finger painted. Wax rubber ducks symbolize a familiar childhood image. They hang by their necks from strings on hooks. The ducks are tortured fragments of infant dependency transferred into adulthood. The blanket and pillow in the corner of the room are bound with the same string from which the ducks dangle. The blanket and pillow offer the idea of comfort while the confining flour box outline keeps it at a safe distance. The mirror on the right wall reflects an image of the ducks on the opposite wall. The mirror may be a hopeless attempt to feel real, too high for the dependant to see his or her reflection and obscured by the repeated words found on the walls: "YOUR NAME HERE".

aLLiaceous

 

Melissa J. Craig

…OFTEN THE DISTANCE

Contained within empty
Spaces & sunlight slanting
Thru dust floating windows
I exist / I imagine life an
Unbalanced scale with
Large sounds of voices
Echo & movement many
In uncluttered rooms in
Manipulative moods
Making sculptured
Thoughts of desire like
A desert valley
Or an alley
Between concrete or
Mountain rock locked
Inside myself touching
Nothing but floor with
Feet for hands & laughter
For words / worshipping
In a cathedral of
Material inversion
Surrendering everything
That’s ever been or
Ever will / sailing on the
Thermal breath of God
The air is sweet
The water is calm
Escape is…

KE