Hi, I'm Laura.
Artist Statement
As a multidisciplinary artist, I investigate modes of communication and storytelling. My practice of community engagement encompasses photography, performance, video, graphic design, installation, and writing. My adventurous and dauntless nature leads me to geopolitical locations, where I immerse myself in cultures and landscapes.
I explore methods of engagement with people in connection with my energetic healing practice and Indigenous perspectives based on ancient wisdom. My aim is to see the whole person—physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual—as one with the land, ancestors, past lives, and the natural world. This can include channeling through dreamwork, meditation, and active listening.
My work revolves around notions of belonging and acceptance. Initially focused on my mother’s identity as a Lumbee Tribeswoman with no legal acknowledgment, new work is rooted in my recovery from a traumatic brain injury suffered in 2021 in Berlin, fundamentally altering the way I understand myself and navigate the world.
Bio
Born in Orange County California, USA 1971. I live and work in Berlin and New York City. I am an American, Indigenous artist, activist, energy healer, designer, and cultural organizer. My work encompasses photography, video, installation, writing, and social interventions with a focus on storytelling, human rights causes, gameplay, and social engagement work. I fuse energetic healing practices with Indigenous perspectives, aiming to perceive individuals holistically, interconnected with land, ancestors, past lives, and nature, utilizing dreamwork, meditation, and attentive listening. My work, centered on belonging and acceptance, initially tied to my mother's unacknowledged Lumbee identity, has evolved through my recovery from a traumatic brain injury in 2021, reshaping my self-perception and approach to the world.
I hold a bachelor’s degree in science in Communication with a focus on Video Production at Emerson College (1994), Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and an associate degree in Multimedia Design (1999), The Art Institute of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Other education includes Art & Sustainability (2009) Weimar Jena Akademie, Weimar, Germany, and Artist Summer Institute (2011), New York, NY. USA.
I am the founder (2012) and the director of studio DE-CONSTRUKT, an artist residency, event, art studios, and photography darkroom that is based in Brooklyn, New York. I previously ran an art gallery called Lucky Gallery (2010) both located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York, USA. A neighborhood I have a very close bond with having done community work for more than 14 years.
I have exhibited in galleries and festivals worldwide and have participated in residencies and workshops in Abkhazia, Armenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Palestine, Republic of Abkhazia. Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. Private collections include, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Republic of Artsakh, Romania, Sweden, and United States.