Handwritten records are fragments of individual histories. In the penmanship, word choice, and spelling we learn about the authors. As a culture we attempt to control the way that we are perceived by the outside world, and yet moment-by-moment we are constantly betraying ourselves. The way we stand, dress, laugh, eat, and cough can broadcast details of our character to the world around us. A written document is physical evidence of who we were at the moment it was written. The way the words are chosen and jotted down reveals the author in-spite of herself. Informal and formal scribble is a portrait. In my current work I am recreating notes and letters that I have found, written, or received by enlarging the documents onto a new piece of paper and intricately dissecting the negative spaces with an Exacto Knife. The cutting is a way of focusing on the text - an
elaborate investigation into the strange properties of writing: the penmanship and word choice that ultimately leads to a contemplation of both the limits and beauty of language. Installed directly on the wall, each letter floating inches from the wall accentuates the sculptural quality of the words, allowing the viewer to examine the care it took to render each letter in relationship to what is actually being said, and exposing the ways we express ourselves to each other. My intention is to re-examine the scraps of our lives, and pay homage to the complexity and fragility of our interactions.