Reliquaries/Cabinets
Michele Sommer-Shapiro
I have always had an attachment to the old and damaged,to discarded detritus and pieces of paper. What is taboo yet strange and beautiful. My restless imagination latches onto a fragment , whether image or word, and begins to build a scenario with unusual associations. I do not sketch or plan, preferring to delicately construct new environments, rewire their meanings and make way for the unexpected in the moment. My recurring themes are the forces that govern our lives: birth, death, time, cycles, blessings, secrets, mysteries, and fate. My work lands somewhere between reliquaries and altarpieces. My recent investigations involve creating utilitarian cabinets. I am immersed in the creation of my work and would love to share it with others. Several of my pieces appear in the series 500 cabinets published by Lark Books.
