A Conversation with Mairin narron

No Added Sugar!

MFA Thesis Exhibition

East Carolina University, MFA Candidate

Mairin Narron - Narron_Headshot.png
 

KP: To combat the sexism that you experienced working with steel sculptures, where would you place this body of work in order to bring awareness to it?

MN: I've only shown this work in a gallery space, but I think it would be interesting to place it in areas where I have experienced the sexism that I mentioned like at a hardware store.

KP: Will this be an ongoing project for you?

 MN: Yes! I think I will always create work pertaining to women's rights.

KP: When did you first start sculpting?

MN: I started sculpting in 2014 when I took a course in sculpture. I never intended to be a sculptor, I wanted to be a graphic designer, but that all changed after taking my first sculpture course.

 

KP: For those that may not know, what's the significance of the materials used?

MN: I make and use hard candy in all of my work to be ironic. My series, which includes No Added Sugar!, is called Unsweet and it equates overwhelming sexist ideals, such as being sweet, to over-indulging in sugar. The series is called Unsweet because I like to think of myself as rebelling against these ideals.

 

KP: Are the installations meant to be interactive?

MN: Yes! No Added Sugar! is interactive. I encourage everyone who visits (if they get a chance) to feel free to touch the work, just don't eat it!

 

KP: If you were to give an artist talk about the work, what would be the key thing you’d want us to take away from it that we may not automatically see?

MN:  I hope that the women or people who have experienced similar prejudice will look at the work and feel empowered and emboldened to assert their agency. I had never been one to speak my mind until I started making this work. I want for the viewers to feel the same way I feel now after creating No Added Sugar!. This why I use mylar as the surrounding environment for my work; so that the participants can literally see themselves in the pieces and hopefully feel empowered.

 

KP: Where do you see this work existing long term? Like a gallery, commercial building, hotel?

MN: Gallery or community center.