Daisy Madden-Wells

My practice stems from a deep fascination with the language of decorative symbolism, often presenting as the bestial or animalistic. The beast is a linguistic character, or glyph, that has acted as messenger throughout history. It is a proxy for something we ourselves cannot utter, despite the dominance of language. I employ these characters to compose new meanings and possibilities. Through sculpture, drawing, painting and film I propose alternate and imagined histories, mythologies, and sentimentalities: referencing heraldry, medieval art, stone monuments, animism, religious iconography, psychedelia, and rubber hose animation. Materially, my current focus is on paper mache, an ancient practice associated with storytelling, folkloric costume, and recreation — the great pretender of craft technique.