Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo

Lives and works in Davidson, NC

Artist statement

Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo utilizes sculpture, installation, textiles, and drawing to explore the possibilities within hybridity and respond to a troubled present in the wake of humanity’s destructive path. Her work presents observations of the human epoch informed by Pre-Columbian mythologies surrounding the serpent, and questions human constructed belief systems and hierarchies around identity, gender, animacy, and afterlife. Her interdisciplinary projects investigate the illusion of human exceptionalism and hypothesize about the urgency of humanity’s trajectory on Earth. Rooted in materiality, her works use found and collected items that carry with them both violent and tender symbolism of human time.

Artwork

• The Hollow, 2026. Carved and charred wood, coral, cicada wings.
• A Shudder of Elation and Fear, 2025. Pen and ink drawing on Gampi paper, acrylic, ash wood, found snake shed.
• The Measure of My Grief is Equal to the. Measure of My Love , 2025. Pen and ink drawing on gampi paper, acrylic, ash wood, found bullet casing, found bullet.
• Kin/Kindred, 2020. Saw dust, wood glue, fencing, foam, quartz crystal, epoxy clay, alcohol ink, acrylic paint, found items including: concrete block, coquina shells, naturally shed pig hairs, deer skull, alligator garfish scales, old nails from flipped houses, human hair, coral, shells, barnacles, rocks, sand, tarantula.
• The Sinkhole , 2022. Plywood, fiberglass, urethane foam, paint, reflective beads, aluminum, epoxy grout, found asphalt pieces, hardware.
• The Scarcity of Sand , 2025. Mixed Media
• To You Víbora, We Scatter Our Most Beloved and Forgotten Things, 2025. Fencing, quartz, foam, wood glue, found items including: Memphis earth, coquina shells, plumbing parts, beach rocks, shed pig hairs, rodent skull, horseshoe crab spines, crab claw, coral, lug nut, broken glass, plastic six pack rings, aluminum, starfish, alligator garfish scales.
• Messengers Colibrí, 2025. Acrylic, ink, mylar, rag and Washi paper on wooden panel. Peruvian walnut frame and shelf. Found baby bird skull, steel wire.
• Our Shadow Beast (Amaru #5), 2023. Earth, saw dust, wood glue, aluminum, foam, found items including: coquina shells, dog skull, alligator garfish scales, horseshoe crab tail, pig hairs, bullet casings, fish bones, shells, shattered car glass, drill bit, broken lighter, bottle cap.
• Warnings and Prophecies From Serpents and Seas, 2021. Aluminum, foam, saw dust, wood glue, Tennessee and South Carolina soil, coquina shells, pig hairs, coral, shells, steel spikes, epoxy clay, acrylic paint.