Desiree Duell

2023-2025

Mixed Media

Birthing Medusa was a large scale collage + durational performance that explored the transition into menopause, and empty nesting.

2017-Ongoing

At its core, Composting Culture is a celebration of the eclectic and the unexpected. By melding together fragments of personal narrative, fairy tales, mass media, and pop culture, I seek to unravel the layers of meaning embedded within our collective consciousness. Each piece is a patchwork quilt of memories and dreams, inviting viewers to journey through a labyrinth of imagery and symbolism.

In my exploration of this fertile terrain, I draw upon the visual language of scrapbooking, infusing each composition with a sense of intimacy and nostalgia. Like a curator assembling a museum of the mind, I juxtapose found objects and ephemera, allowing them to converse and collide in a riotous dance of color and texture.

Yet beneath the surface whimsy lies a deeper interrogation of cultural norms and expectations. By incorporating elements of National Geographic propaganda, I confront the constructed narratives that shape our understanding of the world around us, challenging viewers to question their assumptions and biases.

Ultimately, Composting Culture is a testament to the power of creativity to transcend boundaries and forge connections. It is a call to embrace the chaos of existence and find beauty in the unexpected, reminding us that even in the most unlikely of places, magic can be found.

2017

Flint Water On Paper

Residue was a series of material experiments with contaminated Flint Water. The paper would be submerged for days, but coloration of the water did not translate a pigment to the paper. The pigment of the Flint Water was revealed by lightly sanding the paper. This became a mediation on material as content to examine the trauma of environmental injustice on the body politic.