Brenda Mallory

Brenda Mallory’s work is informed by eco-conscious underpinn- ings. As a Native American artist working primarily with sculpture, mixed media and installation, Mallory links to her Cherokee heritage and traditions are manifested in her interest conveying a strong connec- tion to the earth and the importance of stewardship. Mining natural and found materials, she uses texture and repeated rhythmic forms to create subtle and complex abstract compositions. For Mallory, the potential
for objects to have multiple uses and lives, as well as the idea that permanence becomes impermanence has been an on-going source of inspiration in her world.

North Star (To Wander in a Slow Circle) is one of a series of works based on the idea that we perceive the North Star as permanent, but over thousands of years, different stars assume the position and the name. Currently it is Polaris, but because the earth spins on a precessional axis, the star that serves as the North Star shifts over time. “My use of this title asks us to question ideas of linear time, absolutes, and dominant ideas of truth. The piece is made from sliced-open spools of thread. I often work with the color red in varying shades to refer
to blood quantum, a colonizing tool with a complex history that is used by many tribes to define tribal memberships.”