Gina Phillips

Much of Phillips’s work is autobiographical in nature. Fort Dirt Hole reflects on her childhood in rural Kentucky, where she spent summers playing outdoors and creating new things from her grandfather’s junkyard. Her grandmother was a folk artist and musician, both of which also rubbed off on Phillips who, in addition to being a visual artist, performs in a band. Here, her grandmother is portrayed as a larger-than-life figure, almost like a famous idol. A younger representation of the artist is depicted planting a corn stalk in the dirt on her leg to see if it would grow, re-enacting a vivid childhood memory.

"I love working this way because it works so well really close up and you get lost in the surface and see things in the surface of the piece. And then you can get farther back and experience it that way. So now that I know I can work this big, I would work bigger."

-Gina Phillips