Caroline McAuliffe: Masked Creatures
Caroline McAuliffe holds an M.F.A from Pratt Institute and currently works as a Studio Arts Specialist in lower Manhattan. The masks, or wearables featured in her work, are made of scavenged materials ranging in process from crochet, knit, sewn, or woven textiles. McAuliffe engages these wearables within a familial folkloric narrative, exploring her own lore through textiles and play. Her photographic work explores the concept of power and myth through textiles and masks while drawing upon her own cultural histories of mask wearers, elements of power and kink, and historical scenes of concealment. According to McAuliffe, “masks denote power from the unknown, offer a costume for the jester, a shield for the fragile, and freedom from our perceived self.”
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
I’m very attracted to texture and color. As a former painter and printmaker turned sculptural textile and photo artist, I have always been in love with the contradictory nature of working in two mediums at the same time. I love surface quality and working with my hands. I create photo narratives with lots of visual texture and have started to print my photographs on fabrics to play with light and physical textures. This dual focus draws inspiration from the everyday and imaginative worlds. The wearables are inspired first by the material itself. I am drawn to upholstery cord, trim, and fringes and scavenged rope. My photographic work is inspired by the interior images of Carrie Mae Weems, Sally Mann, and Catherine Opie. There’s a beautiful book called At Home With Themselves: Same Sex couples in 1980s America produced by Sage Sohier that I often look back at. Historical photos like the Invisible Mothers of the Victorian era inspired my recent Invisible Móðir series in which I speak about the uncomforts of motherhood. I also am inspired by figurative work like the queer and intimate paintings of Salman Torr, Jenna Gribbon, Clarity Haynes, and the work of Collier Schorr and Jeffery Gibson. I really love art that infuses performance such as Gibson’s.
How has your work evolved over the last few years?
As my life has evolved, my work has evolved. Becoming a parent has been a huge creative act and also a monopolizer of my time and energy. I work steadily in pockets of time when possible making masks and creating photographs from this new position in life. I feel strongly about making artwork that centers the mothering experience and displays my family, a two-mom family caregiving for our now toddler. There is so much to say and share from this position and it feels like I am speaking to a much larger audience with this current work. Joining the Mother Creatrix Collective has given me community and partnership in this wild time of parenthood, as we encourage each other to push our art out into the world. I’m more driven to keep going after becoming a parent, although ultimately I need to be more flexible about my commitments away from my family. Karen, my wife, is not a visual artist, yet she is a wonderful champion of my work and a willing participant in the photographs. It's really nice to be able to collaborate with my family in this way. Salvatore, our child, is not always a willing participant, but loves playing with all the materials and is a constant source of inspiration for the work I create. Currently I am coming to terms with the fact that I am as consumed by my toddler as I am my mother as she needs more care. The daughtering experience is very much on my mind. It has similar complexities to the parenting relationship, with its worries, time commitments, and identity-bending emotions.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I make when I can and where I can. Today I drilled holes into children’s blocks for my latest mask series about the “stuff” of toddlerhood. I’m only home alone right now because I have summers off as a teacher and a two days a week my child still goes to daycare to keep up his routine, but of course that means I am balancing more house work and family tasks (as is only fair if I’m home more) with “studio time.” For me it’s fluid both in location, task, and time spent. I have spent more time reading and listening to other artist mothers on the topic and writing as I develop my new series. I’m currently in a course called Writing Motherhood led by author Rachel Yoder (Nightbitch) that meets weekly for readings and conversation with other writers on the topic. Writing is something I can do on the subway and before my child wakes up. It has helped me consider new topics for my visual art.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
Working with children and materials is especially inspiring to me. I feel lucky to work with young children daily as a studio teacher, and I learn a lot from them. On a residency in Iceland 10 years ago I learned about my Norse family lineage and I continue to pull from Norse mythology and imagined story lines today for my work. I use the Icelandic language for titles as a tie-in to this world. As I’ve shared, becoming a parent was a huge shift in my work and has been a great inspiration and driving force for the art.
Can you share more about the themes or concepts that you frequently explore in your work?
My work speaks through masks and textiles of surreal lands of masked creatures. In these lands we are powerful and free, protected and proud. I draw upon my own cultural histories of mask wearers, elements of power and kink, and historical scenes of concealment. Masks denote power from the unknown, offer a costume for the jester, a shield for the fragile, and freedom from our perceived self. I want to be hidden and completely present. I want to be vulnerable and protected. This work is intimate. The masks, or wearables, are made of scavenged materials ranging in process from crochet, knit, sewn, or woven textiles. My work engages these wearables within a familial folkloric narrative. I am exploring my own lore through textiles and play. I explore the themes and myths of motherhood and my desires and uncomforts within the role. I used the art displayed in Mama Needs a Raise, a recent group exhibition at Old Stone House in Brooklyn, to speak about the progress that has been attained with FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) in the state of New York and the benefits of parental leave for family caretaking and art making. I have also made clear the gaps in many areas to support families like ours, such as universal childcare, and second parent adoption or orders of parentage, which protect queer families.
Website: www.carolinemcauliffe.com/
Instagram: @carolinemcauliffeart