Katherine Doyle – Memoriam I-IV

The forest and the feelings of safety and spirituality that I feel when I walk alone in nature were the initial inspiration for Memoriam. I wanted to create an installation that channeled the isolation, comfort, and sanctuary of the woods, and the connections of humanity and nature. I began my research for this project with Native American culture, primarily the tribes of the Pacific Northwest. Totem poles are carved entirely out of tree trunks, soaring into the sky and connecting the heavens with the earth. The paintings and carved surfaces draw the eye upwards as the viewer participates in the story being told. Each symbol on the pole means something and is part of a greater story, creating an interactive, humbling experience for the viewer. Combining this knowledge with gathered visual research about forests, I created a small grove of totems to honor the deceased of my own family.

All four totems shown here are representative of four of the five relatives I have lost in my lifetime or recall my parents and relatives speaking about when discussing loss. Separately, the respective textures of each piece tell the story of my relatives’ lives through abstractions. The story begins as all trees commence their growth, starting from the ground and growing ever upward, into the heavens. Toward the top of each piece textures become less defined, indicative of the beginning of human disconnect. Each totem is lit from within, emanating the light of the human soul. The four totems come together under my own memory, and are held and preserved in the way that I would prefer to remember them: as a transcendent, spiritual entity that does not need to be understood consciously, but is certainly understood by the subconscious.

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