Mary Claire Page

What Has Been

Meditating on past versions of themselves, Page explores the fluidity of time and memory.

“During the lockdowns of the early pandemic years, the isolation gave me a lot of time to reflect and analyze my past experiences. I found myself reliving my life through photos of and videos. I was shocked by how much I have changed throughout the years, either through appearance or disposition. Having documentation of my own evolution helped me understand how I arrived at my current form, and I understand that all those different versions of myself were necessary to get me here. I wanted to create a painting where these versions of myself could exist in the same space in the same way I envision them living within me. I used materials I have scavenged to create this piece (cloth, bark, moss, wild mushrooms) since my photos and videos are digital, which means these are the only tangible objects associated with these moments in time. The faces and shapes are interwoven to show how I am constantly in flux. This painting is simply a snapshot of a moment in time.”