Artist Statement:

Retained is an ongoing sculptural archive composed of ceremonial blade forms constructed from discarded cardboard materials that carry specific biographical histories. Each piece begins as a container that once held, protected, or accompanied something else. These materials survive beyond their intended function and continue forward as physical records of lived experience.

Cardboard is widely understood as temporary. It is produced to move objects through space and is rarely preserved. By reconstructing these materials into sword forms, the work places them into a cultural structure associated with retention. The object becomes something to be kept.

Each piece functions as a relic within a growing archive. Creases, compression, printed markings, and wear remain intact as evidence of prior life. These marks are biography. No artificial aging or distressing is introduced. The material carries its own history forward.

Through a process described as Gentle Custody, viewers are invited to draw, hold, and return the work. This physical encounter places the viewer in direct relationship with the object and reinforces its status as something under care.

Retained operates on a foundational principle. We do not keep objects because they are valuable. We decide objects are valuable because we have kept them.