Life Lasagne is the name of Phillips’ exhibition, which is on view at the Contemporary Arts Center in the Oval Room.

 

 

“The imagery is mostly cut-out shapes which I've been doing a lot of over the years, especially in the last year or so...cut out shapes made out of fabric, thread and paint,” she explained. “It's about the cycle of life, and the sentimentality of mortality. Disembodied body parts that are referencing a lot of water imagery.”

 

Phillips grew up in Madison, Kentucky, in a family that made up for what they lacked in modern conveniences with a propensity for all things musical, artistic and mechanical.

 

She quickly learned that any object or material could be turned into something functional or artistic, and spent many summers with her cousins creating elaborate environments out of found objects – the perfect training for the life of an artist.

 

After graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1994, Phillips moved to New Orleans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree at Tulane and has lived here ever since. Phillips’ work continued to be characterized by a raw, narrative quality however she began to focus on fabric as a medium.

 

One of her favorite pieces of the exhibit is called "Sweaty Feet (leakers)," The section depicts two very large feet that are cut off above the ankle facing off against each other. There are huge drops of water coming out of the feet into a larger pool below, giving it a sense of gravity. These are all cut-off forms made of fabrics and thread. It serves as a reference to the artist's childhood growing up poor without air conditioning, where she has memories of running around barefoot and leaving sweaty footprints on the hardwood floor.

 

“It's sort of a personal reference to my childhood” she said. “I guess I'm referencing the condition of my childhood or the imagery in an obscure way. It's almost like the water is a reference to your life energy leaking out and recycling and something about the feet suggest some kind of dialogue. Are they coming from two different entities or part of one whole? Also it's hard not to think about floodwaters and Katrina. I had a house in the 9th ward that was flooded out, although in the big picture that's not what it was about.”

 

Another highlight of the exhibit is the "Holt Cemetery Tooth Comforter" which is a large piece of fabric with teeth sewn into it, a reference to the Holt Cemetery which was a big influence on Phillips. While not usually inspired to make such functional items, she wanted to make an exception for this show and try to quilt something in a folky style.

 

 

“(Holt Cemetery) is where people who couldn't afford to be buried were buried with handmade tombstones” shes said, “you had to be buried in a wooden coffin so it would deteriorate along with your body so families would share a tombstone.I I find the place really inspiring – I love the folk art grave-sites there and the way people make their own tombstones and take care of their loved ones. A lot of times you see blankets and carpets covering grave sites covering up their loved ones bones”

 

 

When a new coffin was put into the ground in the cemetery they were often just dug right into the same plot where previous remains were more or less jumbled up to make room for the new tenant. Phillips would often walk through the area and find pieces of bones in the given up by the earth including ribs, vertebrae, leg bones and teeth, which she would examine.

 

 

“I like to make my work look like paintings and transcend the limitations, but several pieces in this show I'm indulging in the limitations of fabric” she said.