Date
Spring 2026
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Thesis Committee Chair
Astri Snodgrass, MFA
Thesis Committee Members
Brian Wiley, MFA
Craig Peariso, Ph.D.
Artist's Statement
My practice begins with an interest in materiality: what things are made of, where they come from, and what they carry with them. In recent years, this has narrowed into a process of identification, tracing the materials I use back to the landscapes, industries, and systems of extraction that produce them.
We live in a world where materials appear as if through magic. The objects that structure daily life, our smartphones and laptops, the glass, concrete, and ceramics we use, show up as smooth, finished surfaces that feel oddly weightless. Their slick exteriors hide what they are actually made from, making the landscapes of origin and the energy intensive processes behind their production largely invisible. My work starts from that feeling of disconnection, and from wanting to understand what's been pushed out of sight.
Working with a focus on ceramics, I treat the studio not as an isolated space, but as a microcosm of the world. Clay, glaze, pigments, metals, and textiles are understood not as neutral substances, but as carriers of history, shaped by ecological, cultural, and geopolitical systems.
My interest in materiality began with early experiences of travel across the interior of Australia. As a child, I was drawn to small objects encountered along the way; mineral samples, carved wooden forms, and handmade artifacts that seemed to hold a quiet sense of wonder. These objects did not mark a specific place so much as condense entire journeys into tangible form. I was captivated by their material presence, and by the way they carried traces of culture, landscape, and meaning.
Over time, that sense of wonder became more complicated. I began to recognize the entanglements behind these objects: their production for tourist economies, their disconnection from makers and communities, and their relationship to systems of extraction. As an artist working with material transformation, I remain implicated in these same systems. This tension now drives my practice.
The act of making is both a form of inquiry and a form of responsibility.
The question is not whether to continue making, but how.
Recommended Citation
Elk, Scott, "Technofossil: Material Un-Hiding in the Anthropocene" (2026). 2026 MFA Visual Arts. 2.
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/mfa_artists_2026/2