Artist Statement:

My creative practice uses performance as a tool for navigating grief—a theme central to both my life and my work. Through small action studies and durational performances, I explore personal narratives and embodied rituals that support balance, growth, and healing.

I emphasize gestures that are soft yet carry a strong presence, creating visual and physical narratives that embrace the vulnerability and beauty of the body—aging bodies, larger bodies, my own body—as something generous and worthy of exploration. I am particularly drawn to rituals that echo cycles of growth, release, and transformation, offering space for self-reflection and resilience.

In recent projects, I have focused on the theme of closure: finding ways to come to terms with past lives, painful memories, and difficult experiences while transforming them into sources of strength. I’ve begun incorporating tools and props designed to be discarded or repurposed, reflecting impermanence and the act of letting go. This approach has brought a sense of lightness and adaptability to my work, honouring the transient and cyclical nature of healing.

As I prepare for personal transformations in my life—most notably my journey through gender transition—I seek to create performances that serve as both tools and spaces for support. My practice is deeply rooted in the idea that art can act as a vessel for shared experiences, offering opportunities for connection, reflection, and renewal. Through this work, I aim to cultivate moments of vulnerability and strength, both for myself and for those who engage with my performances.

Bio: Yell Freeman (they/she/he) is a performance artist and researcher based out of Brooklyn, New York. Freeman studied visual art at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida where they earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 2011, concentrating in interdisciplinary sculpture. They subsequently earned their Master of Fine Arts Degree at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan, Ireland in 2013 with a concentration in video art and performance. Freeman continues to work predominantly in these mediums, creating visual sequences and action studies that explore the processes of grieving, healing and growth. In 2021, Freeman earned their Master's in Curatorial Practice in Performance through Wesleyan University's ICPP Program, with a primary interest in performance as a tool for grief work. Outside of their arts and curatorial practices, they maintain an active career in freelance arts & collections management for artist studios, alongside artwork installation & handling for galleries and museums across New York City

*YELL FREEMAN*