I cycle in and out of “material romances”; seeking materials to form relationships with and allowing them to persuade my direction. Often my work feels like being a contemporary anthropologist. When I want to know about myself and the community, I look at the materials frequently purchased, endorsed, and interacted with. I am most attracted to mass-produced consumer goods. I find the most history in products of daily use. When searching for explorations, I probe supermarkets and gas stations, thrift stores, and my kitchen, pining for materials I want to understand differently.

I find myself using my art as therapy; I take objects which hold uncomfortable memories and gain ownership through the ritualistic processes I take them through. Hand- stitching, preserving, and yielding useless have become time-consuming acts which provide me moments of self-reflection and empowerment. I adore hand stitching which provides me with near-endless time to become lost in thought. And as with all relationships which contain a beginning, middle, and end, once I feel that I have received what the material wishes to tell me, I move on to the next romance.

BIO

Bea Hurd is currently a Salt Lake City based artist studying Sculpture Intermedia at the University of Utah and is set to graduate this semester. She predominately works in materially based sculptures, though also incorporates video, performance, and audio pieces into her practice.

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