IT'S NEVER FINISHED
Work from my undergraduate thesis, which was shown alongside work from my "loosely constructed" series for my senior show solo exhibition at Xavier University in February 2018.
WALL TEXT:
"IT'S NEVER FINISHED is a collection of interrelated pieces exploring the idea that we, as individuals, are unfinished and in the process of becoming humans. To be unfinished is both lacking something not present in a finished state or having something which has yet to be removed or developed. Each piece starts with this idea, and then incorporates an external, personal inspiration. IT'S NEVER FINISHED asserts "becoming" is a fundamental expression of life, and change is inevitable.
IT'S NEVER FINISHED further explores the balance between the interconnectedness and isolation of the self. The metaphor of one's shadow, being both connected to the self but also empty and isolated, engages with the push and pull of internal identity vs. external influence, nature vs. nurture, and light vs. dark, eventually arriving at a synthesis of being and becoming."
Paintings
Paintings created for my thesis exhibition. They are completed in oil paint and colored pencil, with silver gelatin photograms sewn to the surface.
Self Portraits
A series of self portraits engaging with characteristics of analog film as an analogy for identity.
Monuments
A monument designates an event or a change, recounting some past event for education or reverence. I am inspired by classical sculptures which have been "broken" over time. Marble and stone sculptures present not only the craft and intention of the artist, but also the gradual process of time and change which has weathered them to their current state. In this way our understanding of these works is as incomplete as the sculptor's. Time becomes inseparable from the nature of the sculpted material. These works took on additional complications when the preservation of civil war monuments was brought to the forefront of national debate.
These pieces are 4x5.5' cyanotypes, black acrylic paint,silver gelatin photograms, and digital prints mounted on foamcore.
