In advance of what is sure to be a sensory delight for nostalgic spectators, SAD Mag's Helen Wong spoke with artist Anna MacLellan about Welcome Home, a mixed media installation which opens for viewing June 17, 2016 at Untitled Art Space.

SM: Congratulations on your solo show at Untitled! Can you elaborate more on the theme of domesticity and intimacy prevalent in the show?

AM: To me, home and everything in it is integral to my world. I see this show as a self portrait in a way. Entering someone's home creates a sense of intimacy as you're experiencing where and how they live. I want to share my experience of home with viewers while allowing them to bring with them their own lived experience of home.

SM: You use assemblage, installation and mixed media in your works—how do you create these arrangements?

AM: I'm always unconsciously looking for odd objects of interest sometimes without knowing what their final use will be. One of my processes is creating final projects from a pile of items by assembling and seeing how they interact with each other. I move them around, take out pieces and add others in until it feels right. Sometimes I work the other way and have the concept first and then seek out the perfect items to bring it to life.

Detail from *Welcome Home* by Anna MacLellan, photo by Lauren D. Zbarsky.

SM: Welcome Home creates questions about the home and its interior. How do you grapple with this juxtaposition between exterior and interior?

AM: I consider my home to be a safe haven from the world. There's an immediate change in my environment when I walk through the front door. Feelings of comfort and calm created by surroundings particular to my concept of what a home should consist of.

SM: We are normally taught not to touch artwork as it is typically reserved for a certain elite audience. So by stressing the importance of interaction in your works, do you aim to subvert this notion of high art?

AM: I'm not necessarily trying to make a statement about high art with this show but I do want to break the rules and encourage viewers to interact with art in a way that isn't often permitted. I aim to allow each viewer to perceive the work freely and have their own unique individual experience apart from any preconceived notion or statement.

SM: I've drawn a parallel of your work to Judy Chicagos and Miriam Schapiros "Womanhouse". Who have been some of your influences?

AM: An artist that's been an influence for my work from a very young age is Joseph Cornell. I've always felt very connected to his work because of both our aesthetic sensibilities and concepts.

SM: I hear you're adding a toaster oven and cookie dough to your show, what else can viewers expect?

To be simultaneously comfortable and surprised.