Sugar Creek Revisited

by Eliza Frensley

“My practice explores the identity of my nuclear family, examining how inherited perceptions and expectations are conveyed through creative narratives. As a printmaker, I transform archival images and historical family documents into layered visual narratives that function both as repositories of inherited truth and facilitators of fabrication and misinterpretation. Raised between two socioeconomically divergent families–each differing in class and outward presentation, yet similar in the nuance of their internal affairs, values, pursuits, exploits, and social etiquette–I examine the commonality of expectations and traditions regarding domesticated behavior, social practice, and private experience. By blending original imagery with disruptive textures and visual metaphors, I animate and exploit the abstracted and romanticized narratives I have inherited. In this way, I compose family secrets and unspoken histories alongside outwardly polished representations of domestic and socially performative life. By intertwining imagery and stories across different timelines, my work challenges the concept of linear time, navigating the space between real and imagined histories.”