Cindy Morefield
ARTIST STATEMENT
In my current practice I build large wall collages, called texture matrices, from paper, tape, and other leftover studio materials, then I make rubbings from the matrices as they evolve. The rubbings are made with wax pastel, watercolor crayon, and sometimes charcoal on paper or Yupo, and then some sections are worked in more detail with colored pencil and/or soft pastel. The completed rubbings are treated with an archival varnish.
Most of the pieces in this show were made from the Texture Matrix #3, identified as “TM3” in the titles. Four of these are collages created by combining two rubbings from adjacent areas on the matrix. The remaining pieces came from Texture Matrices #1 and #2 (TM1 & TM2) which were created during a residency at MassMOCA in August of 2017.
The process of creating the texture matrices and then making rubbings from them is like hiding a treasure and then rediscovering it. Even though I create the matrix, I can’t keep all the layers and their possible interactions in working memory, so every rubbing is a discovery of what’s there, what elements will come to the fore at each stage of the matrix’s evolution. Rubbings force me to work in the realm of the hidden, and to trust what will be revealed. I am intrigued by the play between what is hidden and what is revealed, and most particularly interested in what needs to remain hidden. Just as tree roots can only function properly if they stay hidden underground, much of what is important to our inner life must transpire underneath what is visible/conscious/apparent. Like X-rays, the rubbings reveal much of what is hidden beneath the layers of the texture matrix, but there is also a limit to what is revealed.