Artist Statement: Sabra Booth
Source of Inspiration
Natural forms and processes have always been a principal source of inspiration for my work. Sometimes my approach is on the surface strictly formal, an exploration into color, line, and shape. Questions relative to the body politic, gender issues, and environmental concerns often simmer beneath the surface. Throughout my work, is a search for beauty in what society deems an aberration.
Sporadic
Sporadic, is a solo show of mixed media works on display in New York's gallery district in Chelsea. Sieni or mushrooms, that I observed in the Finnish forests were the basis for these pieces. Stemming from my research of Japanese and Scandinavian design, I have simplified forms to only the essentials. Natural objects are magnified and cropped until they become otherworldly. Like a 19th century naturalist, I often sketch and paint flora and fauna on-site or from actual specimens. Many of these pieces both glow in the dark and fluoresce under a black light. The phenomena of bioluminescence has always fascinated me. Growing up in the rural South, I vividly recall clouds of fireflies on summer evenings. These pieces harken back to those early impressions. Other smaller works use encaustic techniques to build translucent surfaces.
Shattengarten (Shadow Garden)
During a 2009 artist residency in Berlin, I worked on large mixed media works of plant forms that I collected throughout the city. In the summer, Berlin is a lush, green place with flowers everywhere. In the midst of all this fecundity, there is also the weight of history captured by architectural remnants of past times. This is a very textural city. Ubiquitous posters layer on top of each other along with stains, mold, graffiti and stickers. I find beauty in this chaotic layering which becomes a metaphor for the city itself. In a more light-hearted approach, the Fragen von Chemie collages address unlikely romantic interactions. Overall, the Schattengarten series is an attempt to explore my own internalized response to the environment and people of Berlin and the Westphalia-Rhineland region.
Twilight's Edge
In 2007, while on a Fulbright residency in Finland, I made a number of prints, and works on paper. In the giant woodcut, Black Winter, I abstracted the woods into a graphic tableau that encompasses even oppresses the viewer, much as the endless nights do that far north. Another installation, Night Woods utilizes strips of sheer cloth printed using collographs made from plants near the lake or järvi. This work conveys the sense of a moonlit birch forest. The director of the Nelimarkka Museo, Leena Passi, wrote “…Black Winter is a long woodcut on linen around the walls raising in front of our eyes memories of old black and white printed fairytale books…Her art gives us a strong feeling of tales of wolves and her deep understanding of the darkness and mysterious nature of the Finnish forests…”
Installations
In the 2009 San Antonio city-wide arts celebration Luminaria, I created a room installation, Fungi Funk, based on mushroom coral. This piece takes a series of silkscreen prints and transforms them into a dynamic composition of psychedelic forms under a black light. Mariposa Machismo utilizes natural forms as a social commentary piece. The butterflies were digitally cut out of MDF board then silkscreened with text relative to an unusual phenomena of exploding male butterfly populations in central Texas. These swarms have possible links to global warming as does the bleaching of the coral reefs.. The Mariposa Machismo installation is visually powerful while also addressing social, political, and environmental issues relative to the region. Parts of this installation, are on display at Central Booking Gallery in Brooklyn, NY.
The Next Step
In 2009, I attended an animation course at the University of West England. I am interested in utilizing my prints and drawings to make animated films. The films Schattengarten and Snapdragon use stop motion techniques with collage and drawings to create a flow of consciousness visualization. I also intend to make larger works that glow, incorporating more printmaking techniques. Conceptually, I will continue the discourse in my work concerning the intersections of nature, myth, and identity.
