listen(in)

BFA Student

Major: Sculpture

Graduation Year: 2020

Artist Statement:

Renée is a human, maker, and engager from Hampden, ME. From a young age, they have been immersed in vulnerability, care, and sensitivity. She is fluid, open, and, though this vulnerability is quite often taken advantage of, they give themself the power to rinse, wash away, and cleanse. Like water, they are fierce and full of love. With their affinity towards softness, Renée finds solace in art, music, poetry, and the outdoors.

Softly sentient we are. With softness we heal, listen, soak, blend, bathe, touch, weave, mix, sift, lift, measure, dull, align, tie, build, think, overthink, make, take, give, open, talk, ask, love, help, feel, cry, laugh, yell, hum, sing, and redeem. Renée uses these processes as their materials, tools, and methods of learning, unlearning, and relearning.

To distill, to slow, to bring forth space and time for people to move with softness through controversy and conflict; their work makes spaces for listening, being, and feeling with the self, with each other, and with everything in between.

Repeatedly, sometimes violently, rendered silent, Renée has grown to make more of their life than giving up. They rise, shake it off, and salvage the residue to create moments for reflection, reconciliation, and resistance. With the meaning of ‘reborn,’ the name Renée inspires their practice to hold space for renewal. Using and reusing tools and materials of the shared ability to be recycled - such as paper, light, steel, body, space, speech, and breath - help them to break apart, soften, and meld together disparate questions and ideas around new ways of building strength. With softness, she works and it is with a challenging necessity that this work is made.

Renée is currently wrapping up their Senior year at Maine College of Art with a Major in Sculpture and Minor in Public Engagement.