Kandis O. creates intimate portraits that study the character and mood of her subjects. In vivid palettes and varied approaches – from watercolor, to collage, to sewing, to sculpture – she bedazzles her subjects with lively smiles, contemplative eyes, performative hands. “I like to sit back and watch people for a bit, see what they’re all about,” she says. “I watch to see how they move, how they interact with someone else, how they respond to things.” Crying, laughing, grinning, each one channels an emotional landscape that Kandis imbues with a story.
Kandis has a longstanding practice of repurposing found materials in her work. “When I was younger, my mom would take the old shades down, and that was my drawing canvas,” she says. “I took old pieces of wood and carved people out of them.” Her recent sculptures incorporate objects from around the house, discarded items she’s gifted by friends, and scrap materials from around her neighborhood. “I think landfills are too big, and if I can make art of something, that’s even more positive. It tests me to see what I can do with something, to see something in it. I’m hoping I can spark a feeling, and people can relate to it, and it makes them feel better or something different.” Through this exploratory process, Kandis gives disregarded objects a new life, instilling in them a sense of artistic and personal significance.
In 2022, Kandis collaborated on Uniquinox: Tarot Alive, an outdoor puppetry festival and exhibition organized by Interact artists and staff. She has presented work in exhibitions at Fresh Eye Gallery and Interact Gallery, including Take a Look, a collaboration with authors at Cow Tipping Press. Her work appears in Best of Cow Tipping Vol. 3, a corresponding book published in 2021. She also contributed to Day and Night Spell, a poetry and comics anthology published by Interact in 2022.
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