Objectify, Subjectify, Personify

This exhibition is an examination of how spaces and objects affect the individual and how those influences are manifested in how they choose to present themselves to society. The project began with the creation of the sculptures; an examination of using different forms of restraint (cardboard, garbage bags and bubble wrap) which returned interesting results. These materials used for packaging, safeguarding, and creating barriers left an imprint on the cement. Cardboard sagged under the weight of the poured cement, creating impressions of drooping. Bubble wrap was unyielding, the cement was forced to adapt around the packaged air and print transferred from the plastic into the cement. The garbage bags restricted some sections, yet in others it was consumed by the concrete unable to be removed. This made me consider the constructs of society, real and virtual, and the imprint they leave on the individual. The buildings created for specific societal purposes impose codes of conduct including dress, language and behavioral codes of conduct.  It is a space where there is the immediate reaction of the individual to the space. In virtual spaces, like social media, there is the absence of the barrier between the physical body and space, which relieves the immediacy and allows the individual time to consider how to present themselves in those spaces. Everyone has a unique experience in both spaces, which will influence how the individual will present themselves in a type of portrait; through their appearance, language and behavior.

I chose to create sculptures in cement. The brutalist nature of the material speaks to its purpose for constructing spaces for practical purposes. It exposes the mystery of how something is made, allowing the concentration of why it was made. What is the purpose and how should we react to it. Concrete also has an ephemeral quality. It is a cheap and easy building material, that is conducive to a fast-changing world. Concrete buildings can be broken down and rebuilt for new purposes to meet societal needs. I began by making portraits as a reaction to these objects. I pull the character out of the structure. Projecting emotions and postures onto the static sculpture gives it a personality that correlates to its purpose. I then painted a portrait of an individual based upon the character discovered in the previous painting. Adding narrative through their appearance, posture and title. I made multiple painted portraits from the sculptures from different angles. I chose to make oil paintings on vellum due to the transparent nature of the materials. The personalities we present change according to the spaces we are inhabiting in that moment. They become portraits that represent that specific moment to be consumed by the public, when they are no longer necessary, they are replaced with another.