Anna Von Mertens – Portraits

“Odd avenues of knowledge and inquiry interest me. I research further and uncover phenomena in isolated fields of study that mirror information about my own private world. I then translate this empirical data into a subjective version to reflect the parallels I see.

I have tracked how energy is dispersed in a nuclear explosion and how energy is stored in a cell; exposed hidden topographies (of the human body, of the ocean floor); contrasted migration routes of birds to the migration routes of humans; and shown the stars exactly as seen above violent moments in American history.

These patterns reveal to me aspects of our existence, whether it is how we experience time and face the infinite – embedded in that is our own mortality – or how the boundary of the body is presented to others versus how it is felt internally.

I use the stitch to follow these trails, tracing the paths with my fingers. The dotted line of hand-stitching is a marker of uncertainty, a way of exploring. The time invested in making the work, allowing for contemplation and internalizing, becomes a part of how the work is viewed.

I see all of these elements as a form of mapping, reflecting the need to get my own bearings in this vast universe.” Anna Von Mertens (via)

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