ARTIST STATEMENT
Carol Parker
The universal familiarity with fairy tales and their expected symbolism guides my imagery of human figures and animals. I often begin by imagining interactions between part-animal humans and human-like animals as they might appear in a recognizable place, working on mysterious tasks. Then, I employ literary conventions to play out the episodes. For example, a depiction of an animal anthropomorphized lends its personality to that portrayal, and, in turn, defines the character through the animal’s traits.
Animals are frequently associated with magic in mythology. My ravens appear as messengers, oracles and guides, but any object or compositional element could have meaning: a street sign serves as a spiritual guidepost; a cliff represents a decision; a forest, the unknown; the color red, danger.
Another storytelling practice is the use of repetition, which I draw on to create continuity throughout my body of work and to recontextualize objects and characters from appearance to appearance. A rabbit in one scene nestled among flowers can be understood differently than the same rabbit standing next to a pill bottle in another. Interpretations of objects and characters also rely on size relationships, placement, distance, number, gaze, color, costume, and setting.
I extend symbolic thinking to the construction of the books as well. For example, the tunnel book format mimics a stage-like setting and captures the characters and their behavior at a specific moment. The action in an accordion book follows a sequence of events, expressing the linear passing of time. A fully spread carousel book can be placed so that there is no beginning and no end, the characters cycling ceaselessly.
Books are often lost in a gallery setting so I give them presence by creating individual displays for the work. Some books have sculptural units that are extensions of the symbolism contained within the pages of the book. In other instances, I design an entire space to be book-like in order to support a series of similar works.
