Formed from hundreds of individual pieces of wire, Kristine Mays has developed a way of expressing the human form through wire.
“As an artist I am very aware of the impermanence of life. With metal wire I have timelessly captured a fleeting moment that I hope will last for decades. My artwork points to the soul and spirit, transporting the viewer into another place. It’s about reconnecting to a deeper purpose — the soul and spirit of our lives. I transform hard rigid wire into soft flowing movement. I create the outer shell, the exterior of a human being, but provoke you to see what’s within. Memories and the way we have loved one another far outweigh our status or possessions — and yet sometimes a simple dress or a body in motion may trigger a memory from the past, allowing us to visit that which has imprinted our lives.” – Kristine Mays
This work was birth out of a nagging within. The imagery came to me and cried out to be brought forth. Thoughts on Harriet Tubman running through weeds on her way to freedom came to mind. Layers emerged as I began to create. My mind turned to the restrictions placed on black and brown people everyday. Where can we go without question, where we are not allowed to tread? The spaces in which one must continually look over their shoulder become more prevalent than not. And just where is this freedom? Where it is ok to exhale and relax your shoulders, allowing your bare feet a chance to walk through grass? Slavery never ended and slaves get their feet cut off if they run too far. Do you ever get a chance to stroll and meander through the grassy knoll or is life full of running on cracked concrete, stepping over broken glass and weeds that poke through cement? My longing for more is infused in the steel wire that speaks of both confinement and boundlessness. It the dichotomy between acknowledgment of what is, and hope for future.
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The pressure to hold it all together, a juggling of responsibilities and emotion, dreams and reality, hope and joy.
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