Piper Hart

Artist Statement 

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After Thanksgiving dinner, my grandmother and I would examine the turkey carcass outside in the dark before burying it. I remember enjoying the boney feeling as I rubbed my fingers against the skull and teeth. As I got older, I thought about how strange the practice actually was, and so I eventually brought it up to my grandmother. She looked at me with a very serious expression and said, “that never happened”.

My childhood memories are littered with distortions like this to the point where it seems closer to fantasy. I reflect on these distortions and other strange aspects of my childhood as inspiration for my art. Things like highway restrooms, cluttered houses, and a doll named Polly that was bigger than myself. My art allows me to consider the validity of my own memories while also making it real by solidifying it in my pieces.

I make sculptures and ceramic pieces that are stylized in a feminine or cutesy manner with a more disturbing undertone. In a way, my style can be summed up as morbidly adorable. My work is more memorable when it is shocking and unsettling. I create what intrigues me and expect it will intrigue others, either because they can relate or because they find it fascinating. Glazing on slabs or decorating small living spaces is part of what I do. I am always exploring new ways to represent my memories and further distort the adorable.