kerryvandermeer.com

Artist Statement:

I make conceptual connections with the materials that I chose.  They are unique to each project, whether of feminists, ecological, or historical/political content.

In 1997, I was given an Artist in Residency award in a remote area of County Kerry in S. W. Ireland.  I have been in many residencies in different countries since then, but that time in Ireland was by far the richest of those experiences. While in Ireland, I read and talked to many people about the "great hunger" and the migration of the Irish people. It affected me deeply, and at one point I found myself carving potatoes in the shape of boats. I called them casket ships, a metaphor for the thousands that died making that voyage. I created a body of work entirely out of dehydrated potatoes and exhibited them as sculptures and installations.

Another large body of work titled “Hardly There” addressed endangered Amphibians. The mystery of their world-wide disappearance is what I was drawn to. I created a series of paintings and sculptures as a way of bringing attention to their demise.

I am currently working with a variety of materials overlaying fabrics, papers, inks, paints, and found objects to create dialogues of tension and connections to place.

Bay Area Feminist Involvements:

In 1995, I formed The Beauty Project, a group of women artists who came together to explore shared interests in feminist themes revolving around beauty and body image.  We produced many exhibits and have met monthly for all these years.  We are planning an anniversary exhibition in 2016 (title TBD) at SF City College which will give many of the members of the original group a chance to revisit the idea of feminist content in their work, and to consider whether the feminist movement still feels relevant in the 21st century.