Artist Statement

As a person who identifies as neurodivergent, my perspective is outside the boundaries of the norm/ neurotypical person. My work has been informed by this, my abilities, and the relationship of the body to the external world. The body is our first home. And after living for the past nine years in "housing instability", first in the SF Bay area, and then in the Seattle area, moving from under one roof to another, and another…this idea of "home" has been whittled away...or reworked, revived...and renewed?

With a 25+ year history as a working/exhibiting Artist and curator including a long history of using discarded materials in art installations. Before the millennium, before e-waste, before mainstream post-apocalyptic ideation, before any attempts(!) made to succeed in art school, I was collaging found objects into assemblages and questioning our use/definition of the words "away" & "disposable", which are included in my archive of work.

My artwork continues to evolve while I study the body's symbiotic relationship with the natural world, and I continue to advocate for patient autonomy in the medical world, as it relates to women, patients with disabilities, LGBTQI+, and patients from historically marginalized communities which are all reflected in my extended family. My craftwork for my Polyphonic Art tiles & assemblages continue to keep me busy building on that solid utilitarian nature as I continue to build my knowledge of materials and techniques. Growing up with learning disabilities has created an insatiable desire to learn everything that I possibly can in the time that I have here on this earth.

After spending most of the pandemic outside in the lush, green forests, listening to the birds sing while hunting moss, lichen, & mycelium, I truly believe that the answers we're looking for lie beneath our feet and under the soil in the complex system of the natural world. This regenerative spirit inspires my work through resilience & adaptability. This is what convinces me that this is our hope for the future and the answer we seek is not one but many because diversity is survival.

Just as in the natural world adaptation is paramount to our own species’ survival. And the way in which we choose to adapt is what will carry us forward. And so I continue to look to the natural world to inspire beauty & wonder in my art, with persistence in asking the pertinent questions-LH

Artist Bio

Lu Hanna identifies as a queer, Transmedia Artist with many unique abilities whose work is process-based in myriad of mediums, driven by concept. Critical thinking and research inform the method, while the nature of the material is studied and the projects within my practice continue to evolve as I pursue the many answers to the questions that I ask.