A Narrative From the Fragments: Art by Amanda D.
Artist Amanda D. works in photography, mixed media, painting, ceramic, and more, using her artistic practice to explore themes of personal belonging, memory, and mental illness. Though the artist’s portfolio is widely varied in its content, recurring motifs help the viewer draw together a narrative from the fragments.
I’m intrigued by Amanda’s repeated use of a baby or child figure in her pieces. Sometimes this motif is reminiscent of a doll, whether it is indeed a found object or a face deliberately sculpted into cherubic form by the artist’s own hand. The uncanny features of this recurring face lend to the sense that it is a symbol -- perhaps a stand-in for the artist, or another character that factors into the narrative surrounding these works.
As we discussed in our previous feature of Amanda’s explorations in psychology and human experience, the artist’s photography presents a far-reaching series of seemingly interconnected images. The entirety of Amanda’s portfolio seems to serve a similar purpose. The artist’s works are very cohesive, though the viewer must do the work of finding the conceptual paths between.
