Artist Statement

I was born into a plugged-in world, raised entirely in the shadow of rapid technological

change. While older generations can point to a “before,” I cannot. I grew up with technology as my playground, teacher, entertainment, and escape. While delivering speed, connection, and

efficiency, it also leads to a loss of identity, purpose, motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and sensory intelligence that come from making things with our hands.

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Growing up in a rural, craft-centred family taught me that handmade objects hold a

permanence that technology cannot match. I find comfort in the weight of older technologies and handmade crafts, in how they hold the marks of time and the people who made and used them, standing in stark contrast to the sterile perfection of mass-produced, disposable goods. As technology progresses, many traditional skills and objects have become outdated, overshadowed by a culture of planned obsolescence and constant innovation. I think about what is coming next, and I worry. What becomes lost that we will not be able to get back?

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My work uses that foundation to build a conversation between the past, present, and the

viable future. What begins as a celebration of invention becomes a quiet warning about the

futures we are building, and whether they will serve or consume us. I do not want to reject

technology; it is too much of a part of me. But I do want to question it. After adopting this

critical lens, I realized the contrast between our hands and automation lies in the process; my work emphasizes this understanding. My choices of materials, surface decorations, and the

processes I choose to and not to automate, serve as my own personal critique.​

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In our rush to embrace convenience and speed, what have we sacrificed? What meaning

can we derive from the things we make when those things no longer depend on our hands? As

machines assume tasks once bound to human experience, we are left to wonder whether the

human hand stands on the brink of obsolescence. These questions compel us to consider how our

understanding of human agency must evolve, and to reflect on what it means to remain

meaningfully human in an increasingly automated world.