Amber Robles-Gordon

An Offering of Self

An Offering of Self is an altar, a place to visually present my gratitude to new ideas, to moving forward, and letting go. An altar to …new growth. The term New Growth, can refer to a myriad of processes and things that have made a measure of change and or literally have grown a few inches.  For people, usually African American, of African heritage, and or other people of color, with a specific type of hair texture and those who have used a chemical hair product to alter their hair. The term new growth refers to the portion of your hair that is newly grown from the scalp. 

Often the materials call me first. Then I have to work with the materials to further understand the conceptual aspects of the work. The dialogue between the two, the overall concept and materials, is revealed as I create.

Although, I had these hammocks for a period of time I wasn't sure how I wanted to utilize them. These hammocks led me to research spider webs, netting, and the formation of the human brain network. Metaphysically the hammock or web-like sculptures represents the way the brain creates networks of information. As I deconstructed the hammock, I added other string-like materials to change the overall expanse and shape of the hammock. My intention is to create a spiderweb-like form with knotted intersections of ribbon and string networks that represent new thoughts, actions, and perceptions.

Ultimately, New Growth, refers to one's belief system and understanding of the innate energy that exists around us, within us, and those we create by our thoughts, actions, and inactions.