Grace Groves

Artist Statement: I am interested in confronting the unapproachable. Through the use of ceramic objects as a catalyst to communicate personal narratives, my work explores themes of familial death, vulnerability, and co-dependence. Rooted in my memories, the homicide of my father motivates my investigation into the conflicting relationship between social distrust and reliance. My art ultimately questions these interactions by highlighting the divisions they cause. Repeating throughout my artistic practice, the balloon objects in my work are vessels of communication. They represent the fragile lines of communication I have with my deceased father. By recontextualizing objects out of their initial form, my work abstractly mimics the action of writing a letter, tying it to the end of the string, and communicating with past loved ones.
 

Project Statement: For my BFA thesis installation, the plan is to create an interactive space where communication barriers are broken and I am able to receive balloon messages back from my father. Represented by a series of 6 balloon-phones and 3 balloon benches, the fleeting ephemerality of a balloon is reversed. The phones promote a two-way conversation allowing for communication while the benches with their balloon legs show how in theory, holding onto the relationship provides unrealistic support. Contrasting these pieces in the same space will be a 54” x 75” weighted, “security blanket” made of individual ceramic beads. The blanket will symbolize the maturation of my fear of loss. With the wording “stay with me” inside the blanket, the piece is focusing on the role of co-dependence after death. As a whole, the installation will express the inevitability of familial death that echos through my mind about losing my grandma after losing my dad.

Artist Website