Kyle and Kelly Phelps
"I look at it like we are one person that happens to exist in two separate bodies. From birth we shared everything. We attended school together, college, grad school, and ultimately became professors together. We learned early on the power and beauty of collaboration."-Kyle Phelps
"I would best describe our work as deeply-rooted in mixing and utilizing media/mediums. We like to mix as many materials, mediums, processes rather than just focus on one discipline (ceramics, sculpture, painting, etc)... Why have a love and passion for art only to self-impose rules of what you can like or use?"
"The physical structure that makes up the façade of each wall relief is made up of found objects. These found objects are often repurposed materials found from abandoned industrial sites such as factories, steel/textile mills, warehouses, coal mines, and railroad yards are the primary sources where the twins find, archive, and repurpose any found object to be used in their narratives."
"The main inspiration for Kelly and I to create the piece ‘David and Goliath’ was to give commentary on the current state of police racism and violence in our modern society today... We wanted to take a hard look at the over militarization of police departments in the United States today... 'David and Goliath' a well known biblical story was as a metaphor the current state of police brutality, police violence, and disproportionate use of force that takes place today. “David” is reinvented to represent the young African American protester wielding a piece of a broken brick. “Goliath” is a metaphor for the overly militarized well- armed police."
