Vanessa Compton: A Night at the Garden

As a collagist, I see art as a vehicle for social criticism and focusing on issues of our time. How do we talk about the history that divides and binds us together? Because I am a white woman and a descendant of settlers, my history of privilege is consciously and subconsciously woven into how I exist in the world and as an artist. My ancestors were touched by war, and the ensuing grief had a tremendous impact on my family. As a new mother, I am consumed with what it means to love and protect children, both within the confines of home and on a national and global scale. As a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, I often work within the Western pop-culture genre to attempt to reflect on what is happening here on Turtle Island. It feels like the same story over and over—one that perpetuates the ideas of regeneration through violence and masculinity reinforced by violence. Heavy-handed notions of freedom, unfreedom, and liberal individualism assume that the Western frontier makes everyone equal. While I have been seduced by these narratives, my work is an attempt to radically counter them.

— Vanessa Compton

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Vanessa Compton was born in 1981 and raised in rural Vermont. She has lived in Dakar, Senegal, where she studied the kora and its influence on contemporary hip hop music; and Kumasi, Ghana, where she studied Highlife (a music genre) and palm wine guitar. She received a BFA from the University of Colorado Boulder, with an emphasis in ceramic sculpture. For many years, she lived a life of migration, working as a seasonal rock-climbing guide in the Southwest and attending artist residencies. Her collages and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the U.S. and appear in private collections around the world. She lives and works in Burlington, Vermont.

RELATED RESOURCES

Installation views
Ask the Artist!