Exquisite Arts Magazine Vol 9- Fall Issue 2018 | Page 24

We all put on facades and are
pushed to conform to ideals
of the society around us. As
a result, my artwork
continues to evolve and
change according to my
influences
and
life
experiences.
Here, I will divulge brief
artist statements about four
series
that
are
most
representative of my recent
work and ideas.
My “Steam Punk” series is based off of photographs I
took at a steam punk festival. With these portraits, I utilize
an industrial age aesthetic, metallic surfaces, and three‐
dimensional clock elements to portray and expound upon
humanity’s superficial qualities. The resulting small-scale
series is lavishly framed and requires an intimacy of close
viewing from the audience that verges on adoration of
spiritual or historical icons. These fictitious characters,
though garbed in Victorian-era fashion, highlight
problems present in our world today, such as
environmental waste, technology, and the power of the
rich one percent.
Transparency with regards to politics is the focus of my
series called, “Submerged.” These paintings are based on
my reference images of underwater figures who happen to
be my immediate family with whom I disagree politically.
I experiment with layers of glass, Plexiglas, paint, and
resin in these figure paintings to shed light on the dark
realities lurking beneath the surface. In the wake of today’s
political unrest, this series playfully addresses the idea of
holding one’s breath–whether in a situation of conflict or
in the hope for something better.
Pg. 24
In the wake of women’s movements like #MeToo,
my intimate portraits of women in the series
“Heroine Addicts,” empower the female narrative.
The name of this series is a play on words that
suggests all women are heroic in their own way and
are in fact constantly thrust into such a position
because of pervasive power corruption. By
capturing the individual in her chosen element, I
allow for her vulnerabilities to appear as strengths
of character. I also chose to use a palette knife as
my painting tool so that I might highlight past
domestic stigmas of women in the kitchen and cut
to the present pain of women trying to rise above
those inherent societal limitations. These portraits
re-animate Barbara Kruger’s words, “We won’t
play nature to your culture.” As a struggling
female artist myself, it is my desire to change
history so that it includes and supports all of her-
stories.
In my current body of work, I am developing
portraits of friends who have immigrated to the
United States, each on a cut-out map of their home
country. I am affected personally by the difficulties