Katelyn Wallis Artist Statment
It all begins with an idea.
As a former Psychology major, I was pulled back to my true passion for the creative process, which I now intertwine with my current study of Art and fuels a lot of my creative concepts. Phycological research inspires a lot of the themes that I explore about gender and sexuality. Gender roles and sociological theories are very interesting to me and are something I wish to further explore. Feminist artwork is a very intrinsic aspect of my art and life. It’s a subject matter that’s very personal to me and is constantly on my mind. I am excited to further my research of the modern day conversation of feminism. All great social justice movements are influenced by and influence art . This is a fascinating and evolving conversation that has great significance to the lives of women and feminine identifying individuals around the world. One art piece that I have made exploring this subject matter is ; “Creation” (2023), a mixed media piece that I used layers and patterns in order to symbolize the beautiful power of creation and creativity the female body is capable of. Furthermore, exploring art in an academic setting has helped me have access to materials and art spaces that developed my techniques in installation and sculpture as well as the concepts behind my art. Having the space to create without restriction has helped me start to unlock new aspects of my artistic style. In my installation art class I was able to experiment with unconventional materials like matches with the matchstick head sculpture titled, “We All Dissolve" (2024). The head is made of over three-thousand matchsticks and the material of the piece is important and represents the impermanence and transformative quality of life. This idea is also conveyed in the performance part of this piece where I lit it on fire. This piece was inspired by the Buddhist tradition of creating intricate mandalas out of colored sand and then after days of work they say a prayer and wipe it away. At university I wish to delve deeper into sculpting technique and the art of installation. Thank you for your consideration.