Featured Artist: Vadis Turner

Vadis Turner makes exceptional work, re-fabricating domestic life into colorful, charged and awe-inspiring installations. She made some food for our BBQ at the Flea a few months back, and now she's back in her studio. We decided to continue with our series of one-ish question interviews.

Elastic City: Vadis, these works are gorgeous. Tell me, what's on fire?

Vadis Turner: Throughout the first year of my marriage, I am making a series of contemporary heirlooms that will ultimately comprise my Dowry. In my mind, a dowry is a collection of culturally relevant goods that serve as a measure of a woman's worth either in monetary value or handicraft skills. Traditionally, a dowry is given to the husband's family from the bride's family as an offering to secure the union or to advance her in society through marriage. The contents of my Dowry will be traded or sold for professional and financial gain.

My September show in Richmond, VA will be the the last of three Dowry exhibitions. Many rites of passage honor the apex of beauty, fertility or physical potential. It often marks the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning. I wanted to create works that bridge various stages of growth and decay. With fire, you see a new beautiful energy being created from a destructive process.

You can view some of Vadis' work on Governors Island through October as part of the "No Longer Empty" show. She also has work on view at the Brooklyn Museum. See photos below of some of Vadis' latest work.