The Shape of Remembering

Author/Artist Name

Alexus DeVaulFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Fall 11-7-2025

Artist Statement

My artwork explores memory, comfort, and the ways we carry the presence of those we love. My grandma, in particular, has been a constant source of inspiration and warmth. She has been a consistent but unconscious presence in my art, specifically through the materials used and memories that unfold within them. One memory that always comes back to me is summer afternoons in the living room, shelling beans while we talked and watched TV. The way our hands moved, the easy conversation between us, and the comfort of that small moment have stayed with me. The bean shape reappears in my work as a symbol of connections, nourishment, and memory. Alongside these tender memories, I draw from the imaginative side of my childhood through my monster creations, which I began making to escape the tension that filled my home. They became companions in moments when I felt overwhelmed, and I often sought comfort in my grandma’s home, where creativity and calmness replaced the noise. The way the sculptures are made is to transform memories into forms, shaping something soft, approachable, and familiar that carries emotional weight.

I work with sculpture, wood, and textiles to give these memories a shape. Artists who inspire me include Michelle Holzapfel, who carves domestic objects from wood, embedding them with layers of personal and cultural memory. Textiles bring something different to the works. The fabric has life within its folds, its stitches and softness reminding me of comfort and care. Artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Do Ho Suh use fabric to capture memory and embody personal history within the fabric. As I assemble sculptures, wood, and textiles, I want to make a space where people can connect with their own memories.

When I began my art degree, my grandma started giving me materials she had collected or made by hand. She passes along materials that others might overlook, fabric, rolls of paper, and little odds and ends she held onto over the years. These materials carry more than their physical presence; they hold quiet acts of care and time. They hold a weight of small, intimate moments that often go unnoticed but leave a lasting mark.

The beans return again and again in this show as reminders of those afternoons with my grandma. They might look ordinary, but for me, they carry closeness and quiet work that builds memories over time. My monster artworks appear as extensions of my childhood imagination, creatures I once created for comfort, protection, and escape. In this exhibition, they exist beside the bean forms, forming tenderness and strength, and reality and imagination. All of this work comes from the same impulse to find comfort and connection in making.

Advisor/Mentor

John Utgaard, T. Mike Martin, Sarah Martin

Description

This exhibition is deeply personal and universally human; it reflects on memory, comfort, and the ways we carry the presence of those we love. The bean ottoman, a central form in this show, becomes both a physical and symbolic object. It recalls afternoons spent shelling beans, talking, and sharing moments that seemed small at the time but grew into lasting memories of comfort and connection. All of the artworks that will be displayed are 3D. I always enjoyed making sculptures and creating larger artworks. The way I make art is to transform memory into a form, shaping something soft, approachable, and familiar that also carries emotional weight. The work looks the way it does because I am interested in the simplicity of a shape that can have a stronger meaning. Their bean shapes have a warm presence that is inviting to people before revealing the deeper significance of the beans. The artwork that will catch the viewers' eyes the most is The Bean, which is an ottoman that is upholstered in bright orange wavy material. This was the first piece of art I made that revolved around the bean, which jump-started a whole line of bean artworks. I want the viewer to leave with a reminder that memory lives in a small gesture or object. Something as simple as a bean can hold the weight of love, care, continuity, and memory.

Photo Credit

Alexus DeVaul

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

DeVaul, Alexus, "The Shape of Remembering" (2025). B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498). 158.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/158