Paleolithic fertility figures inspire me with their exaggerated curves and their persistence across time and geography. I augment those curves with image transfers of berries from my family’s cranberry farm, playing with layered notions of fertility—of the body, the earth, and my own roots.
This work draws from the Venus of Hohle Fels, a small figurine carved from mammoth ivory around 40,000 years ago and discovered in 2008 in Germany. Considered one of the oldest known representations of the human form, it suggests early symbolic thinking, artistic expression, and spiritual or ritual practices centered on fertility.
I used two layered sheets of drafting film to evoke depth and transparency in the mark-making, subtleties more apparent in person than in digital representation. Grommets pierce the figure’s nipples, emphasizing their significance while physically binding the sheets and creating points for hanging. I cut the figure out, reinforcing her object-ness as she floats.