Artist Statement

Water is the basis for life. There is a limited amount of drinking water,
and yet humans continue to pollute
this finite resource. The majority of water contamination comes not
from industry, but from domestic use of pesticides, fertilizers, and
cleansers. Recognizing my culpability in producing chemical waste,
this series of photograms uses a cyanotype photo emulsion, in which the
light sensitive metal is a nontoxic iron salt, similar to the iron supplement
we consume.

Crossing boundaries between art and craft, interior treatments and
exterior views, is part of recognizing that what’s out there is
connected to what’s inside. We are not insulated from the social and
ecologic web of our world. Clothing is our primary insulator against
the environment. I use fabric as a support for my images for the
tactile qualities and for the added dimension of relating to the way we
live. Rauschenberg said it better, that art relates more to life when
it is taken from life. The attraction to repairing what we do have is
echoed in the use of patchwork quilting techniques, and frequently, the
recycling of materials. An art from we can live with, lean on, cover
ourselves with, reuse, store easily, all these are important supports
for the subject of the work.

Mallory Cremin