The Hidden Door

Exhibition Statement

The Hidden Door takes its title from Carl Jung’s description of the dream as “a small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul…” This exhibition of new sculpture and mixed-media work grows from my lifelong practice of recording  dreams. Presented as an interconnected installation, it gives physical form this private world and the mysteries beyond consciousness. 

I began keeping a dream journal in my mid-twenties, when I first understood dreams as messenger, muse and unseen choreographer. This is the first time I have returned to the full collection as the basis for an exhibition.

Using commonplace objects and materials, I give form to the sensations and narratives of dreaming. Through this tactile process, I explore dreams’ unresolved and shadowy qualities—dread, discomfort, uncertainty, wonder, strange creatures, and the inexplicable. The dreamer is  

a detached observer, witnessing events without needing to explain them. In this way, personal revelations become portals between private memory and shared experience, offering truths that can help guide us through challenge, loss and growth.

As a project-based artist, I develop each exhibition in response to its site. The Pendulum Gallery’s shifting natural light and shadow play—especially during the long days of summer—shape the work throughout the day. The movement of people passing through animates the installation, making the experience responsive to both the moment and the rhythms of a downtown community. 

This exhibition began with an invitation to create a new installation with curator Chris Keatley, building on my recent work and broader practice. Through sketches, maquettes, material studies, and other experiments, the project evolved with studio visits and ongoing dialogue. 

A selection of these process materials is displayed along one wall.