Undefined - The Power of Words That Define and Defy

There’s a certain power in words—especially the ones that are used to define us, label us, or, at times, dismiss us. Undefined lives in that tension.

At first glance, the surface reads as aged and weathered—tones reminiscent of tea-stained paper, time-worn and handled, as if these layers have existed long before the piece was ever assembled. Nearly two hundred dictionary pages are built into the foundation, each one placed deliberately, then partially obscured through texture, abrasion, and encaustic wax. The edges are tattered, torn, softened. Some words remain visible. Others resist, buried just beneath the surface, waiting to be found. And that is where this piece begins to speak.

Words like bitch goddess, bitchy, hateful, non-compliance, nonconformist, rebel—terms that can be used as accusation, as dismissal, or, depending on who is holding them, as something closer to identity. The definitions remain intact, but their authority feels less certain here. They are fragmented, interrupted, layered over and through one another, as if meaning itself has been challenged.

The encaustic wax plays a quiet but important role. It doesn’t erase the language, but it softens it—distorting edges, blurring clarity, forcing the viewer to slow down and look more closely. What was once definitive becomes interpretive. The certainty of language gives way to something more fluid.

There is also a larger undercurrent running through the piece—one that reflects the current cultural and political climate. Not in an overt or declarative way, but in something more subtle and, perhaps, more enduring. Resistance is present here, but it is not loud. It is embedded. It weaves itself into the structure of the work, sometimes blending into the background, sometimes surfacing just enough to be recognized. In that way, Undefined becomes less about the labels themselves and more about what happens when you refuse to accept them at face value.

The heavy texture surrounding the pages anchors the work, giving it a sense of weight and permanence. This is not a clean or polished surface. It carries history. It holds tension. It suggests that identity—like these layers—is built over time, shaped by experience, and never as simple as a single definition.

Like many of my pieces, this is not something that reveals itself all at once. It asks for time. It asks for attention. The longer you stay with it, the more it offers—fragments of language, partial meanings, contradictions that don’t resolve cleanly.

Undefined is, at its core, a quiet act of defiance. A refusal to be reduced to a single word.

SIZE: 16" x 20" x 2" (41cm x 51cm x 5cm)

Special Care for Encaustic Artwork... Encaustic artwork is created with a combination of beeswax (note for those who are allergic) and damar resin. This art form has existed for centuries, but because of the natural properties of the wax it does require to be displayed out of direct sunlight in a temperature controlled environment.