Artist's Statement:
I am a compilation of knowledge, experiences and beliefs being constantly broken up and rearranged throughout life’s unexpected turns. Everything that is now is what is past accumulated. A visual exploration of moments from my life, manifested through a visceral exploration of surface and material. The work explores the rhythm of my body moving in space, flailing in frustration, searching for meaning in past memories; information fragmented and compiled from the past to inform the present and fantasize of the future. The sensation of being in my body, of feeling the weight of existence on my chest. The beautiful chaos of it all: analyzed, deconstructed, reconsidered. A fascination with human inconsistencies and peripheral remnants of materials, marks and stains carrying bits of unspoken stories. Material has meaning. It is a constant discourse between happenstance and refinement. An intimate turmoil manifesting itself in many forms from painting to performance.
Biography:
Kayla Cloonan was born and raised in South Florida with a varying history of creative study including orchestral music, creative writing, film photography, mixed media, painting, installation and performance art. She received a B.F.A. in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. Since moving to Los Angeles, Kayla has presented in a myriad of group shows as an artist, curator and collaborator in a variety of alternative and established spaces. Kayla's work explores personal experiences, memory and past trauma manifesting in many forms from painting to
performance.
The Evolution of Clay: Performances to No-one in Isolation
The performance series began as a response to a collaboration with artist Elizabeth Flinsch as part of the Call & Response Project by Shoebox PR. The isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic has been different things for everyone. A cancellation of public spaces dissolved opportunities for performance art in person. There is something powerful and ritualistic about the mindset involved with performance, and I longed to encase myself in that feeling again, even if it was a performance only for myself. So I began a series I've been referring to as 'performances to no-one', in which I have gone about the structure I would typically lay out for myself in performance art, but with no audience. Although the camera cannot imitate the feeling of being present during the performance itself, it can still serve as more than just a documentation, perhaps even a chance for mindfulness for the viewer. This series explores a journey of time, placement and reformation. It is a story of clay and it’s ephemeral evolution from soft and malleable to brittle and broken and back again. A pattern evolved naturally alternating
from hands to tools as the material changed form. The performance phases took place over the course of a week, with time for soaking and drying. The cyclical journey is never absolute. Time forever
modifies matter while still maintaining resemblance to its original form.
PHASE 1-
A Softer World
04/28/2020
duration 13:00
PHASE 2-
Partially Dry
05/01/2020
duration 17:30
PHASE 3-
Hydration & Actualization
05/02/2020
duration 8:19
PHASE 4-
The Sun Bake
05/05/2020
duration 15:25
To see more of Kayla's work, please visit her website at: kaylalcloonan.com
