COLLETTE TOMPKINS
Biography
Collette Tompkins is a Brooklyn based artist. Prior to residing in New York, she lived and worked in Philadelphia where she attained a BFA from The University of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries and shows in both New York and Philadelphia. She has worked with many types of artists in arenas such as dance and theater where she has designed both costumes and sets. She has also written some art criticism and has been published on the Blog POVarts...
Artist Statement
Dabbling in an aesthetic gleaned from early twentieth century silent films, gothic fiction, and natural environments, Collette Tompkins creates haunting work that strives to bring awareness to the multidimensionality of the psyche. Her stark color pallet alongside theatrical tableaus lends itself to the creation of uncanny dreamscapes. The characters represent and bring awareness of one’s multidimensional psychological facets. Tompkins utilizes her own experiences navigating the world in a female body to explore issues of gender identity, inequality, and misogyny in contemporary culture. She further transforms these cognitions into installation, video, mask making, and sculpture; thusly, creating a bridge between herself and the collective conscious. This introspection is made complete as a visual language that is constantly growing through a continuous reflection on the evolving status of gender inequality today.