Kiki Farish

Lives and works in Raleigh, NC

Artist statement

What if I grew up in paradise? Instead of believing in an invisible heavenly deity, I visualized everything of earth as sacred- even the garden heap. I’ve been challenging the binary approach to existence - birth and death; good and evil; heaven and earth. I’ve been asking if the powers for guiding the next generation are found within earth’s nature and within all humans - male, female and the continuum between. Reacting to dualistic ways, I compose worlds that express how close extremes can be. What kind of worlds are these? They are largely beautiful, while slightly chaotic. Words may appear, but are muffled by marks - added and subtracted. Flowers, rendered with great tenderness, are often past their prime. Nothing in these worlds seems rooted or solid; they’re fleeting, uncertain, shifting. Tiny delicate details live next to aggressive harsh marks in a pool of contradictions. Absolutes are not found, rather these worlds are built on the ambiguity of grays – there are no sure or easy answers. Emotion is validated. My most recent work series, Educating Alice conveys the emotional conflict I experience in repeated attempts to purge the patriarchal and religious constructs governing my life. Alice is my given name, the one I answered to in grade school. Repeated alphabets and feminine forms evoke memories of learning through repetition. Beautiful flowers and nest-like organics with sensual twists and turns compel the gaze to come closer, as if toward an unfolding religious...

Artwork