Kayla Lockwood delves into the perplexing tapestry of emotions connected to grief, death, personhood, and family history through the lens of memory. An ever-evolving new media artist, Lockwood is developing a visual language of memory between the tactile and the technological. Experimenting with video and coding, she created experiential installations that immersed her viewers in the sights and sounds of memories and emotions. In her recent work, she bridges technology and time-based formats with the haptic nature of more traditional mediums such as textiles, ceramics, film, and sculptures to uncover the power of loss that exists between the physical and the ephemeral.

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In her youth, she turned to art to excavate new understandings of her sense of personhood, honing her skills and pursuing new pathways for igniting connection. Eager to test the boundaries of artmaking, she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art & Technology from the University of Oregon in Eugene and is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Using her skills and knowledge, she has formed several artistic personas, including Miss Identify and Social Sin, and founded numerous creative communities to unite like-minded artists. In the wake of personal loss, she was impassioned to explore the intensity of the emotions she experiences more deeply, the impact grief has on mental health, and how we collectively and personally come to terms with the inevitable phase of life. Where once her work was focused on notions of personhood, reflecting upon her own life experiences struggling with notions of being othered by society, she now untangles the immense complexities of human emotions associated with death, mourning, and our ability to cope.