Mari Andrews
My work has evolved from years of drawing and obsessive collecting. Through sculpture, I weave these two activities together. Wire, pine needles, branches, and other linear material carry on the drawing practice while moving the work into the sculptural realm.
The gathering, cleaning, and storing of collected objects, whether they are man-made or natural, allows for a kind of intimacy with each object. This information is crucial while combining materials to make new, hybrid forms. Various temporal and delicate materials I select often mirror our human sensitivities and vulnerabilities.
Structures of all kinds, from cellular to skeletal, inform the work. The sculptures become a collaboration of materials and intention, with the materials often altering my concept and practice of working.
For the most part these "three-dimensional drawings" are presented on the wall. They are made as singular pieces but often come together in larger wall installations. The individual works relate to and play off of each other like words forming sentences.
I transform the material used in these sculptures to bring attention to fragile and often fugitive objects that might otherwise go unnoticed.
