Kitty Willow
ARTIST STATEMENT
In a technology driven world, I create work that is built upon the painful and existential loneliness that comes with being connected to everyone and everything at all times. With a touch of cheekiness and whimsy, the work I make looks at the reality of human imperfection, whether bodily or in mind. I find inspiration in fibre arts, and in natural bodily forms.
My work is based around decision making, constantly the choice to continue making work even when the world around and inside of me is falling apart. I constantly try to find a healing nature in my work, a way to scream from the rooftops when my voice is gone and I’m desperate for anyone to notice or relate. I believe if maybe I open myself up for others, then there is a chance we can be less alone. When I’m so very afraid, I desire to make art that confidently screams that there is nothing to fear, only to radically accept.
I want nothing more than to make and craft, and with this making I fill the parts of myself that feel so empty. I love attention, I love validation, and I love to make. We all live, we all die, and we all want someone to see us. We need someone to see us. I need someone to see me.
BIOGRAPHY
Kitty Willow is a nonbinary artist, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta.
Willow’s work has a focus on childhood and the aesthetics associated with toys as a way to look at common situations of adulthood through a more innocent lens. They are interested in exploring uncomfortable subjects and experiences in ways that feel lighthearted and easier to digest. In particular, exploring trauma and grief with toys and childlike imagery creates a dialectic that they find charming, if deceptive.
Their practice consists of fibre works, in particular needle felted dolls paired with clay accessories. The figures themselves are animals that are commonly seen as plush toys, and there is a large focus on body language and facial expression even on a small scale. There is a handmade quality to their work, and this allows for a home-like look.
As a queer and mentally ill artist they hope to explore feelings of aimlessness and fear in the modern world through traditionally feminine and innocent mediums. By using fibre arts and dolls to present situations of the effects of trauma and illness they want to build intimate environments that allow for a lighthearted look at less than desirable situations.
