KATHERINE BURLING
43101099_10210926756399059_8615177386108911616_n.jpg

The World That Drowned

If we take Richard Leppert at his word that if  “the present [were] less painful, the lie of kitsch would be less insistent” then much of human mythology, vernacular belief and the contents of grandma’s attic deserve measured perusal. Where cowboys and indians, cherubs, Madonnas and dinosaurs sit side by side, we might wonder how they got there amongst her cache of plastic fossils.

My fascination with kitsch lies in the inherent contradictions that exist between its physical incarnation and the reality which it so desperately aims to conceal. I am particularly interested in how our relationship to kitsch intersects with our alienation from nature; the loss of the transcendental; and the failed promises of modernity. Inherent within kitsch lies promises of utopia and veiled desires; I am curious about what this form of cultural expression tells us about who we are.

Drawing from collected objects, material culture and kitsch theory, my work explores the melancholic atmosphere that, over the course of several centuries, has brought kitsch to life.  The resulting work is inspired by feelings of loss and chaos, often personal as well as social, ecological, and political. My work draws from images and objects that carry a sweet, old-world nostalgia, employed as a metaphor for that which is lost, threatened, and woefully cherished.


43101099_10210926756399059_8615177386108911616_n.jpg

The World That Drowned

If we take Richard Leppert at his word that if  “the present [were] less painful, the lie of kitsch would be less insistent” then much of human mythology, vernacular belief and the contents of grandma’s attic deserve measured perusal. Where cowboys and indians, cherubs, Madonnas and dinosaurs sit side by side, we might wonder how they got there amongst her cache of plastic fossils.

My fascination with kitsch lies in the inherent contradictions that exist between its physical incarnation and the reality which it so desperately aims to conceal. The resulting work is inspired by feelings of loss and chaos, often personal as well as social, ecological, and political. My work draws from images and objects that carry a sweet, old-world nostalgia, employed as a metaphor for that which is lost, threatened, and woefully cherished.