Kimberlee Koym-Murteira

Lives and works in Oakland, CA, USA

Artist statement

Artist Statement Kimberlee Koym-Murteira In my exhibition titled Traverses, I invite viewers to journey with me through the challenges I've faced, including the pandemic, divorce, and childhood trauma. The collection features landscape videos, body cast sculptures, photographic prints, and sculptural paintings that celebrate queer and maternal bodies. I am merging ancient techniques like mask-making with modern 360-degree videography. Amid current tensions in the country, I shifted my focus away from overt politics this summer. I delved into a more lyrical space, creating new pieces for my show that intertwine my mythology, childhood memories, and celestial themes through Jungian archetypes and fairy tales. The photographs depict warped trees surrounding a figure poised to step onto a bridge, with a rose-colored forest centering a person like a candle wick, symbolizing the uncertainties of the pandemic in a fantastical swirl. My time in nature nurtures resilience and an appreciation for beauty. I capture themes of confinement, liberation, and ethereal qualities. Through my altered representations with the 360 camera, I reflect my concern for the queer/non-binary AFAB community and the importance of preserving nature and embodied belonging. The body casts represent embodiments of collective and archetypal imaginations, serving as stand-ins for memories. I transform these casts, featuring a woman with raised fists surrounded by a circle of guardian mothers and a figure in...

Artwork