Existing comment:
Katie Hartley is a mixed media artist living in Washington, D.C. A registered nurse for the past 9 years, her work moves between material exploration and a push for more conversations about mental health.
Katie's latest work, a photograph collection titled In Our Eyes, presents a series of selfies taken by healthcare workers during the pandemic. Through text messages, emails, and social media posts, Hartley gathered images of friends, family, coworkers, and strangers from around the world. With minimal editing by Katie, the photographs welcome the viewer to intimately engage with personal moments for each worker.
In Katie's collage sculpture, Burnt Out, she meditates on the toxic culture of healthcare and the impact on the mental health of its workers. By combining energetic colors and patterns with figural postures of defeat, Katie creates discord between the genuine joy of providing care and the exhaustion of being a caregiver. Hartley uses personal photographs, clothing, and knitted pieces for material, imbedding her personal narrative, including battles with mental health, into the collages. While knitting, sewing, and collaging her work, she pursues her own healing. |