My exhibition can be divided into three main parts: the influence that human activity has on nature, specifically wildlife, light work and finally a figurative project – where the focus is identity. The re-occurring theme of the exhibition is vulnerability. I would hope to show how affecting and sensitive each one of the elements are (wildlife, light and identity) by making art that is first seen as decorative or for aesthetic reasons only – however as the viewer delves into the labels one by one, they begin to understand the meaning behind the artworks. As I started making the work, I definitely faced challenges in making somethings that weren’t purely pleasing to the eye but rather meaningful; I began to notice that I would unknowingly put in my own values into the work I made, which to me, made it even more meaningful. I have always been wary of the effect that climate change has on the environment, but something that worries me most is its impact on wildlife; therefore, as mentioned earlier, three of the nine artworks in this exhibition will be dedicated to that.

 

Also, identity is something I struggle with as well, especially dealing with issues regarding insecurities, imperfections and being vulnerable. I approached this idea through my figurative art: the life drawing, the monoprint and the digital piece.  The artwork ‘red’ criticises society’s perception of women’s emotions through the hollowness of the eyes and its red hue. My insecurities during the drawing process pushed me to exhibit it because of the parallel between my own insecurities and the model’s.

 

In addition, I made three works which focused on light’s emission through glass. Each of these pieces have different motifs - however, they all fall under the topic of vulnerability. Similar to the mosaic series, I used glass tiles to go on the surface of a sphere with the aim to create a glitter ball (‘Disco Ball’). This work is representative of coping mechanisms people tend to develop because of their insecurities - which ties in with the figurative works about identity. I re-utilised a damaged lamp shade and turned it into something high-spirited to make my exhibition livelier by painting onto it with glass paint (‘Fragments’). Although I reused something that would have been otherwise useless, the main attraction is not the lampshade but rather the reflection it makes when it is lit up. The last work regarding glass and light was also made using glass paint that I called ‘translucent’ which represents the importance of strong interpersonal connections. This also reinforces the link of vulnerability in conjunction with the theme of identity.

 

Due to the complications brought on by Covid-19 and the hassle of having to transport artworks; my exhibition is virtual - over two screens. The first one features two of the themes of my exhibition: identity and wildlife. The second screen is solely concentrated on my light series. I tried to mimic dark lighting for the second screen in a way where the works were still shone in the hopes that this would set the scene for the viewer and give the feeling of an immersive experience through the light effects that work in harmony together. This is important to me because of my preference towards interactive galleries as I believe that they keep the viewer engaged. As mentioned earlier, each label hooks the viewer into understanding the work’s intention rather than leaving them with the unknown. In order to create a relationship between each artwork I set them up together as a trio within the main parts of my exhibition. I also tried not to let the viewer’s eyes wander too low or too high in the first screen. Whereas, for the second one, I aimed to keep some sort of symmetry and unity between the works where they would all be displayed at a fairly similar eye level. Keeping them engaged does not only mean having an overwhelming display but also allowing them to recognise and reflect on themselves in what they are viewing since vulnerability is a universal and inevitable feeling.