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    Gifford’s work is an inquiry of cultural intersection that examines the relationship between the U.S. and Iraq through the lens of her partnership with husband Ronnie Khoder. She interprets moments of conflict, and connection in her relationship with her husband, their families, and their respective communities as a result of their individual and political histories in Aiken, South Carolina and Mosul, Iraq. Highlighting the intensity, fear, humor, vulnerability, and grief in these moments of intersection, the art uses personal experiences to speak to larger social and political realities and humanizes them.

 

    By positioning her work in the liminal space between cultural extremes, politics, languages, and religions, Gifford acknowledges the uncertainty of multiple truths existing at once. Inviting audiences into this middle ground, she asks “ What happens when two sets of realities collide and they can no longer exist separately?”. The artwork seeks to confront the residue of where we come from and what we choose to carry with us into a new space that must be created. She postures the monumentality of cultural collision against the delicate and intimate process of stitching cultures together.

 

    Materially, the work is rooted in her experience as a residential builder as well as traditional sculptural materials including plaster, bronze, wood and steel. Gifford’s process references traditions of the cultural and religious artifacts that often inform her work. Narratives are constructed with expanded layers of media, often including sound, video, drawing, performance, and interactivity, which situate them in a contemporary context.

 

     Building upon art historical dialogues surrounding orientalism, religious art, and architecture, Gifford’s work speaks directly to contemporary concerns of migration, diaspora, trauma, religious extremes and global conflict. The artwork critiques the impact of colonialism, American Imperialism, privilege, and American evangelical culture as the artist evaluates her own responsibility to unlearn.

 

    The work is often collaborative, utilizing the voices and stories of the artist, her husband and their families, who are all equal partners in the production of the work.