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Abstract
Artist talk by Trista Merritt
Description
Artist Statement
Presenting her BFA thesis defense and research artist Trista Merritt speaks to her recent body of sculptural works and installations. Working within a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” approach. Exploring the intersection of queer hyperfeminine expressions and identities as they are asserted and consumed. Dissecting this concept against facets of pop culture, psychology, as well as historic art and literature. Informing her conceptual and material engagements through the canon of surrealist movements. Implementing this within the material language of candy and hair in which an uncanny sensory experience is activated, forcing contamination through audience consumption. Merritt furthers themes of femininity, identity, agency, and reclamation through the reappropriation of historic female archetypes. Following the ethos of sculptures such as Louise Bourgeois and Janine Antoni. Using the spider as a device to inject and grapple with assertions of maternity, identity, and relationships. This research works to contextualize her body of work presented within the group exhibition Consumption. In which moving through the installation a confessional narrative evolves within a domestic scene. Evoking nostalgic coming of age experiences, the grappling of identity, the ways in which we become our own voyeur, and the reality of systemic entanglement.
Department
Art
Date
Spring 2026
Disciplines
Art and Design
Recommended Citation
Merritt, Trista, "Trista Merritt Artist Talk" (2026). 2026 BFA Artist Talks. 11.
https://dc.ewu.edu/bfa_artist_talks_2026/11
