Concepts for her sculptures are embedded in DeDecker’s research, and every sculptural gesture is a deliberate connection to the in depth digging she does to understand her subject. With every new challenge, DeDecker’s studio is covered in stacks of photos; copies of articles, journals, poems, and interviews; piles of clothing and physical artifacts. She searches for words and patterns to help her interpret the soul of her subject in a visual form. DeDecker is intrigued by more than capturing a likeness. She sculpts a piece until the research takes three-dimensional form and the viewer feels what her subjects must have felt.