Katrina Coombs

My practice is inspired and guided by a quest to deepen the spiritual, emotional, and psychological understanding of the numerous conflicting roles that have been attributed to women in contemporary society. It engages the role and existence of the woman, the m(O)ther and the I, through the use of fibrous material, the body, and the audience. It explores the impact and intrusion of the Other on the I—the Other in representation of either an external or internal being to the self.

Often autobiographical, my work investigates the role of the woman’s body as a sanctuary, a vessel, and a portal through which energies pass and the I becomes absent. It addresses issues related to the maternal body and function which are often considered too taboo to speak of, in juxtaposition to the emotional, psychological relations one may have to the I and the Other through presence and absence. Often, the Other prevails and creates a structure and void of neurotic divergence. Thus the female body, as a spiritual enterprise of the maternal structure, is a regulator of relationships with the Other. My works become manifestations of these emotional celebrations and conflicts.