Dervin’s artwork is acutely self-reflective. With the passage of time, it has evolved from autobiography to something that, while still introspective, is more considered. A sense of misgiving is the most prevalent theme, woven through scenes of physical and emotional vulnerability. The imagery can make for uncomfortable viewing but, still, shows a playful, satirical side.
Her work has come to encompass her visual reflections on the body, its frailty, and our transcendance of this frailty. The seed idea for her recent work was an article describing the ability of cadaver dogs to sense human remains submerged for years in deep bodies of water, that vestiges of the departed can persist in the pattern of our lives, remaining sensate for generations through the family line.
