Marilyn Joyce
Portland, Oregon

Bone Secret 1, 2 and 3

$125

tsitra.m@gmail.com

Artist Statement

Words, sights, sounds, smells, touch, and our everyday experiences become integrated with our physical body. Secrets: one form that leaves a history in our systemic anatomy.

Bone Secret 1, 2 and 3 are part of an ongoing body of work centering on the natural world and our relationship within that context. On a recent walk, in the fields near my home, I discovered two small masses of grey matter holding bone fragments. Rain had transformed the ‘castings’—undigested, regurgitated remains of fur, feathers, claws, teeth, and bones of a prey animal—into a soft residue. Removing the fragments, each piece seemed to hold a secret and asked somehow to be heard, but not in words. Questions arose: What cycles or experiences of life have they witnessed or held? What secrets do bones wish to tell or not?

The boxes are constructed using text from The Wisdom of Bones, by Alan Walker and Pat Shipman, inkjet printed on archival paper and hot waxed. The ‘casting’ replicas are responsive drawings of my walk experiences using charcoal, graphite on Strathmore paper, finely shredded, and rolled to create the circular forms. The bone fragments are from the actual found ‘castings’ and have been placed in the forms as they were constructed.

Artist Biography

Marilyn Joyce is a visual artist who resides on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. She received her BS degree in art from the University of Oregon and also completed a post-baccalaureate program at Oregon College of Art & Craft in drawing and painting. She incorporates drawing, painting and printmaking into her studio practice, responding to the mix and possibilities that occur. Her interest in the natural world and a love of walking, provide a framework for her on-going exploration revolving around the environment and the intersection with our contemporary lives. She is an educator and also teaches workshops. She shows her work locally and is included in several private collections.

All images and text copyright the artist. All rights reserved.