Cat Raynor

In my work, I look to reflect the human experience of feeling both trapped and safe inside one’s own mind.  Each space I create, large enough for only one person at a time, lends itself to an individual experience, a temporary escape from the noise and distraction of reality.

Using packing materials to create the inside surfaces, I represent the desire to create a padded barrier between ourselves and the world outside.  Each material, although used for protection, is fragile and flimsy when pressured or torn apart.  The colors I paint with vary from excitedly vibrant to serenely beautiful, yet quickly grow brown and muddy around the edges.  The bubbles create intricate protection but pop quickly and sag.  The stuffing provides soft padding but is easily destroyed by human hands.  Each wall of the space presents a dichotomy between safety and vulnerability, between beautiful and ugly. 

While both rooms present a controlled, pristine exterior unrecognizable from what is inside, each internal space also represents opposite states of mind.  Abstractly, my installations are a self-portrait. The parallel spaces draw upon the wavering nature of human concept of self, inviting fast comparison between two vastly contrasting experiences of texture, color, and mood. 

This work is a study in transformation and transcendence of material and ideology.  It is a creation exploring the fragile beauty of the human system and our desire for self-preservation. 

My illustrative work is largely a celebration of the female form and sexuality. Constantly inspired by the beauty of the human figure, my drawings explore the ever changing forms the body can take and the meanings inherently translated through various poses. Such as in life, each figure may be as much delighted in as devoured. 

Capturing the world around me in 35mm film, I aim to document the meeting of natural beauty with daily life.