Heather L. Johnson

Heather L. Johnson (born 1969 in Wahiawa, HI) earned her Master of Fine Arts from California College of the Arts in 2001.

“I grew up moving around. The cultural shifts between each place were dramatic, so as a kid I adapted habitually, stretching myself into a new shape to conform to each new territory I found myself imported into. This bred a special kind of rootlessness I have spent most of my life fighting.

I discovered motorcycles late - well into my mid-30’s - and suddenly the wanderlust made sense. The act of riding taught me to embrace movement as an incentive rather than a barrier to living a high-quality existence. When in motion, a bike and its rider cut through space like a knife, exposed and unprotected, physically a part of the environment through which they pass. Functioning as a conduit, the motorcycle is a powerful connector, a means through which I seek to understand the world around me.

Employing an assortment of media, my art examines spaces from the perspective of an outsider. It places people in the position of looking intimately at subjects which on the surface may appear uncanny, distorted, fragmented, or temporary - all only partially within reach. Their power lies in their very “otherness”: what is left unseen, and in any desire they invoke to learn the untold portion of a story. I strive to inspire questions about where we are as humans, physically and psychologically, in relation to what surrounds us.

My most recent drawings, embroideries and mixed-media installations explore the psychology of borrowed time and the fragility of the body in relation to systems we build that sustain and grow our economies, yet are often responsible for resource exhaustion, climate change and social inequity. I’m drawn to tensions between things that don’t fit together neatly, yet co-exist in our peripheral vision or beneath our feet, that hum from behind locked boiler rooms or subtly obscure horizons with glinting metal, smoking flares and polluted haze.  Within decayed, crumbling buildings; tangled but ordered, unspeakably powerful mechanical systems; and tenacious plants and animals that survive, even thrive, despite lengths we go to control them – I find emotional cocktails of awe, disgust, desire, fear, excitement and hope.

The hope comes from recognizing that somewhere buried in these forms are signifiers of our human vulnerability. The acknowledgement of vulnerability opens space for empathy – and from acts of empathy arise possibilities for positive global change.

For more information: Heather L. Johnson