Amy Bennett

Amy Bennett designs and constructs a 1:87 scale model neighborhood using model railroad miniatures, landscaping supplies, and dollhouse lighting to use as a still life for her paintings. “By considering the layout of the street and the relationship of one house to another, I am prompted me to imagine the character of individual families, and the ways in which they may interact and connect. My imagination fills each house with history, memories of significant events or moments, traditions, and daily rituals. The act of building models plays a critical role in triggering my imagination to develop images. The model becomes a stage on which to develop the psychological implications of belonging to a particular family, with all of its dramas, struggles and familiar routines. I think: this tree will be taken down after an old man crashes into it; a father will transform this lawn into an ice skating rink; this house will be abandoned after its residents are scandalized on the evening news. In the same way that we develop our concept of home, I have created these images, through memory, personal experience and imagination. One of my challenges is to invite the viewer to form his or her own connection and narrative, whereby he may empathize with the occupants’ seemingly mundane existence.” - Amy Bennett