heather willems
artist heather willems collects and displays the intimate details of people's lives using text as a visual image. with this selected work she collects information by eavesdropping in bars and restaurants, transcribing overheard cell phone conversations, tapping her own landline, and intercepting unsent letters.
willems utilizes writing as a visual medium and personal narrative as subject matter. she paints brightly colored text in the form of common visual images: a 1982 television set or ford taurus station wagon. in other instances the text is presented in its original form: scrawled on bar napkins or as telephone answering machine recordings. from a distance the work appears light hearted in nature but in reading the content, the pieces have a collective darkness. in drive-by, a mother describes her affair as she stalks her lover’s house. in the avenger, ex-gang member describes the revenge he plots against his girlfriend’s murderer. the work exhibits personal experiences but taps into shared fears and desires.
a native to green bay, wisconsin, heather willems currently lives and works in columbus, ohio. she received a bfa (2000) in photography from the university of minnesota-twin cities and an mfa (2005) from ohio state university. willems has exhibited heavily in the mid-west and throughout the u.s.
for more information contact:
info@mahangallery.com
