
Tiera May
Artist Bio + Statement
Tiera May is a visual artist, musician, and graphic designer. She lives and works in a remote location in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
May’s work has previously been featured at the Nevada City Film Festival, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Blue Line Art Gallery, The Museum of Northern California Art, B-So Gallery and 1078 Gallery.
Artist's statement
My work explores mythology, folklore and occult mysticism through analog collage. In what is quickly becoming a “paperless”age, the manipulation of paper as a medium and the challenge of seeking out physical source material in the form of rare books has become an obsession of mine. Because of my reverence for and fascination with relics of the past, the dismantling of these books to incorporate them into my collage work is not unlike a ritual sacrifice for me; the act of cutting up an antique book pains the bibliophile in me yet I am still compelled to do it. This continuous dance of destruction and creation is integral to my process.
In 2019, I began developing Ritual Tarot - a 78 card tarot deck. Every card in the tarot carries a deep and rich allegorical symbolism. The imagery for this project was created exclusively using deconstructed books and paper ephemera. A new visual narrative emerged as I dissected and reassembled the traditional archetypes of the tarot; a narrative that speaks to the archaic but also holds space in the present.
Past Exhibitions
2018
2018
Blackbird
Chico, CA
2018
2018
2018
B-SO Space Gallery
Chico, CA
Chico, CA
2018
Museum of Northern California Art
Chico, CA
Education
2017 Sierra College, Associate Degree in Liberal Arts & Cultures
2016 Sierra College, Associate Degree in Studio Art
2016 Sierra College, Associate Degree in Applied Art & Design
Upcoming Exhibitions
2021
1078 Gallery
Chico, CA
2017
Blue Line Art Gallery
Roseville, CA
2017
Wild & Scenic Film Festival Art Exhibit
Nevada City, CA