My work centers on memory and identity; the deeply personal and universal.
Throughout the making process, my mind is softly focused on the circumstances that made me the person I am today - and by extension the people we all grow to become. As humans, we are sharing the same emotions after all. Am I a different person because of my brown skin, or is that only a factor in the eyes of others? Are the results of my trauma something to overcome, or were they always part of the Universe’s plan? Identity surpasses our intellectual thinking. It resonates within a place that is ultimately invisible, and yet, still guides all that we do.
Memory is a strange thing. Each time we have a memory, it is a reconstruction. The memory itself is never exactly the same - it is always colored by when it is recalled and what we are living through at that time. It is not a trustworthy source of information. Still though , we call on its wisdom to help us each step of the way.
Our Minds use memory as an evidence chamber; to judge, prove and validate our experiences and their meaning - talking with our bodies for what it needs to do to survive. Our Human Bodies take on and hold the entire spectrum of experience - on one side highlighting and augmenting the positive, and on the other protecting one's mind from overwhelm and trauma. This circular system is continuously shaped and reshaped by everything that travels within it. We are shaped and reshaped. The fabric I use is shaped and reshaped.
In accepting ourselves and others, we must accept with totality, and without condition. We cannot choose the portions we like and leave the rest - with respect to that, my pieces are not cut and pieced back together. The works begin and remain as one unbroken length of fabric.
Fabric became a fascination because it is in contact with us as humans more than anything in this world. It shields, hides and advertises us, amongst all that it gives. Fabric reshapes itself, allowing us freedom to move in any direction at any time. Fabric wears its history for all to see - without fear, nor pride.
I choose a tightly bound palette in order to compress my work's message, and to compress the viewer's attention into a concentrated space with the purpose of heightening communication. I want the viewer to know that the works were made for their eyes as much as they were made for me to speak.
Kent O’Doherty, 2025