Madison Hansen creates objects and installations that illustrate her views on nurture in personal relationships. She reassigns purpose and authority to common objects, experiences, and gestures, furthering a connection between the artist and the object. Hansen’s relationship with her mother is the foundational element that introduced her views on personal interaction and treatment of others. Hansen’s work arises from personal introspection in order to create works that aim to evoke similar feelings within the viewer. The works publicly present private narratives, such as focussing in on tactics to fix a problem or care for an object. Oftentimes the care is incorrectly interpreted, which Hansen illustrates in displays like using a band-aid to fix a crack in the concrete.
Hansen employs techniques ranging from photography to wallpaper printing to quilting, allowing the concept to drive the choice of medium. This material research begins by Hansen collecting greeting cards, child development books, and books on gardening. Those common yet provoking thematic sources synthesize to display a relationship between false, forced, and constructive nurturing. The works mimic Hansen’s process of nurturing, with care and intent prioritized in each step of making, exhibiting the process and evolution as much as the finished piece. The way Hansen makes choices in materiality and process directly reflects the nurturing she has given, received, and observed. She creates with care and intention while uprooting the problems behind giving and nurture.