Erin Clabby

My work is about not accepting reality. To be honest, it is fucking hard to accept reality. Most times we do not want to believe that the problems we have are real, and so we go through everyday life ignoring problems we do not want to deal with or we pretend they do not exist. When working on my art, I did not want to accept the fact that my known reality was breaking apart at the seams. I pushed the truth away and made work that I perceived to have no meaning behind it. I made work that completely destroyed the photographic images of loved ones and cherished memories. Because, all said and done, these were all just objects - objects that can be put through the wringer and exposed to the turmoil of the problems I did not want to accept. But over these last few weeks, I had no other choice but to accept my life and what was happening in it. No longer could I hide behind the facade of pushing away the problems of real life. That is when I realized what my artwork is truly about. My work is based on not wanting to believe that what may be happening in your life is real, ripping out moments in time and covering the hardship so you can block it out and pretend it is not there. My art warps the moments and feelings I do not want to remember. Using primarily photography and painting techniques throughout my work, I put these pieces through the wringer. Ripping them apart, cutting them, defacing them, using harsh chemical baths, everything I could do to create tension with the material I did for the hell of it. Looking back now, I can fully accept I did this because I had no control in my life, and therefore I put it into the art without even realizing it. I was so stuck in my false reality that it became my work.