Outside the Lines

Shaira Holman

I had this piece of mirror. I measured all its sides. It was (24+1)X(8+7+20). I wanted to use it. It was perfect.

That’s the middle piece.

I had these other pieces of mirror that I was using as test strips – and they were lying beside each other while I was coating them. They were beautiful the way the three looked together.

Special
liquid photo emulsion on mirrorA triptych.

I started thinking about different sides of self (inside & out) and of the whole.

I hate writing artist’s statements. I’m not disabled. I went to ‘special’ schools and all that, took tests over and over. I’m a bad speller but a good driver, fast reflexes, sharp spatial sense.

I just have a hard time with some things.

My work isn’t about technique or the perfect moment. I work in layers, seeing different things at the same time, more like driving than reading.

According to the UN definition, according to doctors and teachers I am a person with a disability. Am I rebelling, hiding, in denial, refusing labels, being difficult? Is it pride, shame, laziness? I don’t know. The process of making art doesn’t culminate in answers, it just makes it so I can see different things at the same time.

Emma Kivisild