MARY JANE PARKER

Artist Statement

The natural world has many intrinsic similarities. I am fascinated by my realization that the root of a plant serves a similar purpose to the intestine in the human body. I am amazed at the complexity and mystery of the stars and the distant galaxies and struck by how much a satellite picture of that vastness resembles a microscopic image of our blood cells. I am intrigued by medical specimens; the idea that a small container can hold part of a plant or human for examination and study. My current work explores these many natural affinities and phenomena, drawing attention to the unity that exists between our humanity and the world we inhabit.

References from history, medicine and botany inform my sculpture and prints. Readings about hysteria and its impact on women in the 1800's was the driving force behind my early work that merged pictures of hysterical patients with the constellations. My work has always included a reference to the human form. Through this work I am conveying a particular message of evoking the viewer's perspective on their own being. The work is an attempt to merge the distant and foreign with the complex and familiar.

The work that I create is made up of many different materials from glass to ceramics to etching and wax. I love having so many processes at my disposal. When making a piece, the decisions about idea and concept inevitably take into account what materials will best convey the intent. As a result, the final body of work has an eclectic quality, ranging from traditional two-dimensional work to sculpture to installation. For me the driving force of the work is the idea.