Hillary Wagner, originally from southwest Ohio and now based in New York City, is an artist working in sculpture and installation.

2017 MFA Fine Art Thesis Walkthrough- Hillary Wagner from Parsons Art, Media & Technology on Vimeo.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Lift your arm Let it rest on the line of the horizon Lie down on your stomach in the dry dirt Breath out from your mouth Watch the dust float toward the sky then settle back onto your skin Ask yourself Where did the body that I came from come from? Wait for the rain to come in the night At dawn walk barefoot in the mud Warm each seed between your fingers before you cover it with cool wet earth Ask yourself What did I inherit? Let the milk swirl in your mind warm thick and raw Never let it stop Ask yourself What was lost? Grow salt crystals over everything Preserve the world in grace and truth form and color so it may shine as though in its first state of freshness Taste the salt Rub it into your skin until you bleed

I am an artist from rural Ohio where my family farmed for generations. I am concerned with questions of origin and place, memory and labor, and stewardship and nurture. In my work, I investigate how each of these concerns intersect with my feelings of alienation and displacement.