My recent work has been about people and their relationship with “home,” whatever that may be for them. Having spent much of my childhood in varying states of homed and homeless, struggling to find a sense of belonging, finding a place to call ‘home’ (whether within a house or not), and having that variety of home-places be only temporary, I find it to be a recurring theme I return to in my mind and in my work.
Within these explorations of home, what it means, and how it can be experienced, I want to communicate the kinds of emotions that wanting, having, and losing a home-place can elicit. I work to portray that loneliness of lacking a home, the peace and serenity of finding a home, the pain of losing, the constant changing states of homes, those places where one belongs, and how those changes affect our growth and maturity. How have those who have always lived in their childhood home had differently lived experiences to those who have only known constant change? How does discomfort or unease in the place you should call home affect your emotional output and understanding of the world? These ideas I want to explore are rooted in my own experiences, but my goal is to communicate many issues around that sense of place and belonging, and how it affects ones sense of self and emotional/mental state. I want to communicate a variety of feelings and views, centered on one’s home, their place of belonging.
In my midterm work, I did four watercolor pieces. The titles are all tentatively given by a friend, so no one can blame me if they suck. I think I will never title a work again. Outsourcing them is so much easier and way more fun.
You Carry It With You - The bag lady work is based on the feeling of having to keep your home with you. Could be read as a homeless thing. The bag lady, anxiously trying to protect herself, looks uncomfortably on as others around her enjoy the light of the sun and relieve themselves of the (relatively small) loads they would have carried on their own backs, if at all.
Your Source Of Content - The blanket kid work is based on that kind of, this single thing in my life (gifted by a loved one) is the only warmth I have in the chaos that surrounds me. Their room torn apart, window covered in plywood, plants dying. An attempt was made at making their space home, but it has been ruined by outside sources.
You Will Never Unpack It All - The box child is based on that idea of constantly changing homes, or unstable living situations, where you may never be able to get things out of storage, or unpack anything more than your necessary clothes before the next unexpected move.
The Only Constant You’ve Known - The pale one, surrounded by poisonous plants and signs of death, a soft draping fabric tangled about them. This one is based on that unending depression, the decades long experience of quiet suffering, and the comfort that only comes from the consistency, and the inevitable death as your final ‘home’
