My work centers around the activity of taking things apart and using the pieces to build something new. I sculpt, print or sew works with a wide range of collected materials, usually cloth, paper or wood – reusing things like clothes, furniture, and photographic images.

The labor-intensive processes that I am drawn to, like stacking, winding, patterning, and creating works from very small pieces, offer me the time to build layers of meaning into my work. I’ve been interested in themes of money, relationships, tools of measurement and the environment because they are part of most people’s everyday and for the most part, they are unavoidable.

I use common materials, images and experiences to address common but complex experiences. My constructions are anthropological in how they are made, what they are made from and what they are about.

Shelley Spector
2011