Shapeshifter-The Art of Family Tragedy & How to be Amazing Anyway

Hello!
I put together a art installation show combining family artifacts, paintings & collage to tell a story of the tragic death of my Aunt Susan in 1968. I wanted to share the senseless death of a 11 year old girl on a Girl Scout outing. She was a passenger in a car that crashed. She did not receive the proper care & died from injuries that could have been treated. The aftermath of her death lead to sorrow, depression & addiction.
This incident shaped the life of my Grandmother, Mother, myself & my daughter.
There was a gurney installation with flowers that wilted away as the show progressed through the month. (see photo). There was also a wall installation with flowers, hospital receipt for the day, school work by Susan, her dress & photos. The collage porting of the show shows the darker side including a self portrait collage with a letter from my Grandma to me:

A girl who does not dress or groom like others is
Insecure, has low self esteem.
Needs parental guidance, strict
Mother not in control, non-assertive
Doesn't know what's inside is more important that looking like a slut, tramp
Trying to hide behind goofy clothes & dyed hair
Not a leader for friends to look up to or seek to be with
Daughter & mother need ambition

A Girl Who Doesn't- Self portrait Gma would not approve of, A letter from Gma, vintage cards, ribbon, locust wings, resin, very old frame

Wall detail- After the accident my Grandmother fought to change laws about carpools & no-fault car insurance. You can see her handmade sign on this wall with photos & string art by Susan 1968.

The Gurney- installation w/ flowers, bones, horse hair

Detail of wall installation

Wall detail- Susan's dress & photo of her in the dress

Shapeshifter - The Art of Family Tragedy and How to Be Amazing Anyway from Modlab.tv on Vimeo.

A video about the show because, I am embarrassed to say, I did not document the show as best I could & it sold out. That is amazing & I am grateful however, everything went home to new owners & I should have had the show travel to other galleries in surrounding area. My friend at Modlab.tv did a great job putting this quick project together. My voice is annoying & I could have run through it a couple times to get it right rather then one shot. At the show I had loops playing of Susan singing an Eartha Kitt song at the Fair the summer before her death, you can hear it in the beginning of the video.

The painting part of the show was about getting through the pain, sadness & addiction that life often brings. Everyone has a story & pain to get through. When we heal ourselves we can help others heal. We can turn around difficult times to be beneficial to helping us help others get through their difficult times. Be the magic! The paintings were about loving yourself , having humility, being kind & taking care of your unique & brilliant self. Susan would not have wanted to be remembered in such a sad way. She was a vibrant, sweet child. I wanted to celebrate that & break the cycle of blaming her death for my family's darkness. I would much rather make more art than write about it.. I hope this combo of words, video & photos gives you a little idea of this show.

Kick your Inner Ass-(meaning be nice to yourself & others, life is to short to be scared and mean) Acrylic on wood

Altar- Acrylic & chalk on wood (meaning create your personal, empowering altar to focus your intentions)

Thank you so much for checking out the story of an art show.

Amy

Condolence- photo of x-ray of a mummy, sympathy cards, antique papers, ball chain, resin