installations
Fostering Chaos - 2016 - Purdie Rogers - Cotton, bandages
This installation, "Fostering Chaos", embodies visually the chaos that is going on in the lives of many children in the foster care system in our state. The muddled arrangement of cotton coil and bandages are meant to feel chaotic and unsettling. The intentional use of child-themed bandages references this issue affecting many children across the country. 467 bandages were used to make this installation and each bandage represents 22 children that are currently in foster care homes, totaling more than 10,000 children in the state of Washington alone.
The Foster Care System in Washington has failed children and the foster-to-adopt families way too often. For years it has struggled to appropriately advocate for kids and the families that want to foster and adopt them. Unfortunately, some of these children are forced to move over and over again, causing attachment, mental-health and safety issues. In addition, many foster care parents who have raised children from infancy are unable to adopt them and sadly watch them return to detrimental situations. My hope is to shine some light on this systemic problem, that continues to grow as the number of licensed foster parents decreases.
The Foster Care System in Washington has failed children and the foster-to-adopt families way too often. For years it has struggled to appropriately advocate for kids and the families that want to foster and adopt them. Unfortunately, some of these children are forced to move over and over again, causing attachment, mental-health and safety issues. In addition, many foster care parents who have raised children from infancy are unable to adopt them and sadly watch them return to detrimental situations. My hope is to shine some light on this systemic problem, that continues to grow as the number of licensed foster parents decreases.
Place Value - 2016 - Purdie Rogers - Soap Slivers, Filament
Place Value is a metaphor. To take a familiar object with no real meaning and present it in a different, often unorthodox way, inspires me as an artist. By looking at objects from different perspectives, we can possibly change the way we perceive their purpose. This installation is titled Place Value because it is about what we place value on; from pieces of old soap that we will throw away to other things or people that we may discard because we see them as useless. For years I have found beauty not only in the form that is the end of a bar of soap, but also meaning in the idea of what remains or is left over. Comparatively, we are quick to discard people that are viewed as challenging, flawed or imperfect; we are unable to see the value and potential of redemption, the possibility of growth and change. I find myself identifying with these thoughts, but know that there is more to what we see. There can be and is value and worth where no one sees it.
