Brittany Sievers | Playing with Dirt

I am a process-based artist that is interested in connections between mass produced objects and the environment. I utilize modular repetition to create sculptures and installations that highlight spatial relationships of rooms or within each piece itself.

Objects contain in my household set the parameters of the sculptures. Coasters, Ikea lack tables, hula hoops, and even galleries provide a space for locally sourced clay and hand-spun yarn to respond to and prop up, fill, or replace the mass-produced object. Noticing the relationship of mass produced to local raw material and acknowledge that these repeated modules relay on the mass-produced objects to exists. In noticing these relationships, I aim to create a platform for each viewer to become mindful of source.

The process of finding, digging, and refining raw clay parallels flowing through the Ikea showrooms, searching for the perfect piece, and finding the product through the aisles and bins. There is a sense of discovery in both. However, in researching fast furniture, I have stumbled on large companies utilizing national parks to illegally acquire their wood. I acquire clay through similar practices, but in comparison on a microscopic scale. The process of piercing the ground, scooping the dirt, and dropping it into a bright orange 5-gallon bucket leaves me feeling deceitful and remorseful. This artwork channels my frustration of uninformed consumerism and highlights my own hypocritical approach to material goods.

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