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2017
Traumatic triggers come in many forms: the smell of a rose, the taste of a warm pie, the sound of music. What attracts one may repel another, but the tension between these two opposing reactions is what entices Ballard as an artist. Every trigger is tied to a specific memory which causes her, as a survivor, to question reality and what she believes to be true. Is this love or is this abuse? What happens when we succumb to the memory that haunts us?
2016
There is a tendency to fetishize technique within the craft community. Amber Fine Sparkle embodies and simultaneously teases that fetish through satire. Her character represents a duality and struggle within the artist to embrace her southern craft-centric roots while also working to push beyond them into a broader art context.
2016
The raw clay transcends its physical limitations in its finished forms and becomes almost bodily in its weight-physical and emotional. The viewer is left to wonder, is Ballard seeking to overthrow the medium, or even more specifically the craft, or does she have bigger plans at hand?
2016
2015
Duration: 3:45
2015
2015
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