Spilling mechanisms of my perspective on reality.
Translation by Kendra Werst
Werst on her project:
I claim for myself the right to determine the terms and images that reflect my personal identity. Translation is in homage to my mother and father. I was adopted when I was an infant and while growing up, I felt that I was who I was because of my blood. In my years of personal development I have realized it is much more than that. I am an amalgamation of the emotional, psychological, and physical attributes of my parents.
My mother and father are both analytical by nature. My mother, is a mathematician and my father, a civil engineer. The arrangements that come to fruition in my work are similar to the systematic way that my mother solves mathematical problems; my attraction to line and architecture stems from my father. Growing up I would flip through the blue prints and bridge plans that were on my father’s desk. The colors in Translation come from my mother and father’s use of black, red, and blue pens, along with the yellow highlighters scattered around the house.
At this point I use an inclusive visual language that honors my individuality in my work in sculpture and installation. Translation and other works utilizea grid of nails as a framework for the attachment of threads under tension. This system allows for connections to be made and leaves space for accretion. The various threads are similar but individual, each one being a dependent variable in a formula. As each thread is secured from point to point, an organic form of visual biology is generated.
