Artist Statement
Currently in my art practice, I desire for beautiful bits of things to exist in the world. These are objects that are either handmade and derived from raw and textural materials or they are objects found from an era past and are anachronistically hybridized with newer technologies such as microcontrollers. Recent investigations include lathing fruit and nut woods into iterative spools, wrapping thread systematically around nails, and collaboratively gutting and interfacing a cherry red rotary phone to the internet. There is always a transformation process that I am highly attuned to that is a motivation for providing imaginative new lives for these objects.
In regards to materiality, Katherine Hayles wrote that this is an emergent property that “marks a junction between physical reality and human intention.” How can I understand these junctions as metaphors for things that I already know and am continually learning how to master - a seam, a solder joint, a link, and a serial connection. And where does human gesture exist in the materiality? These are questions that are under investigation as I continue to make and understand through phenomenological process and reflection methods.
Biography
Meena Satnarain is a visual artist and teacher born in Brooklyn, NY. She recently completed a MFA in Digital + Media at Rhode Island School of Design; she has also received a graduate degree in art education from New York University and bachelors degrees in both studio art and digital art from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In addition to traditional painting and drawing practices, Meena has been involved in experimental time-based installations, collaborative and solo performance art, book arts, textiles, and other tactile objects.
Though American, Meena is also part of the multifaceted Indian diaspora; her parents, grandparents, and some great-grandparents are from Guyana, a small country in South America with a history of migrations. Meena investigated her individual journey as an artist and teacher during her research at NYU which materialized into several artist books as travel documents, including a curriculum handbook for adolescents. Meena’s work has been exhibited in Baltimore, Washington DC, and New York City.
Meena can be contacted at msatnarain(AT)gmail(DOT)com