Disappear Here: MFA Thesis
With the concern with events and future trends, I create paintings that are bright but depressing. Bold colors create a futuristic presence with a sense of hopelessness. In the issue of identity, the disappearance of the figure becomes captivated into its’ surroundings, becoming unidentifiable and anonymous. From the impression of movement, color vibrations, swelling, and warping, I show my interest in weather patterns that began to inform my art. Through the disappearance, destruction of the environment, and personal loss, my paintings have a feeling of dread. Regarding the destruction of the environment, coral reefs play an essential role for local communities and the world by contributing to local economies through tourism and sustaining ecosystems where people can fish. With the loss of ocean life and vital resources, there is a pull of density and buoyancy with death and decay themes. The portraits are drowning underwater and feel wholly submerged, becoming part of our damaged ecosystem deemed replaceable—shown through a blank expression or not acknowledging the viewer. The colors focus on consuming the figure in these distorted portraits showing damage translated through a concentration of harshness around the eyes of discoloration emulating bruises, x-rays, and scabs. We have become desensitized to information through the human condition and lack of empathy, being invested and unmoved by the constant bombardment of news unless it affects us. My work creates fluid meaning and frozen imagery of these relationships, paradoxes, denials, and reinforcements. Through controlled lighting and artificial color application to staged arrangements, it suggests ordinary beings and environments. I often create arrangements that show my interest in relationships between elements from the external reality to create a seductive and unusual space.
Annette and Jerry Johns Gallery
DeKalb, Illinois