Ride the Wave

“Ride the Wave” is an expression of the climate anxiety I face everyday. The series depicts humans living their lives in resigned acceptance of humanity's impact on the environment. Inspiration for this series of paintings comes from my experience with the fires in California in 2020. After safely evacuating walls of flame around my home, I felt this resigned acceptance as I confronted the idea that I could lose everything. With this series, I embrace the dichotomy of worrying about man made disasters, while savoring the life I have been given.

Though each of the paintings depicts a different man made problem, the figures depicted are all in a vulnerable position in close proximity to it. Each figure is lost in a hobby, passion, or their own thoughts, unbothered by the disaster around them.

The topics covered by this series are based on my experiences and my worries. They represent concerns that I have, such as the new normal we face in the pandemic, the effect of inferior products on the environment when they need to be trashed and replaced, the acceptance of the military industrial complex, and how we are depleting earth's resources. These man made disasters and failures of humanity have impacted me directly and indirectly.

The resigned acceptance I feel is largely due to how powerless I feel in comparison to the magnitude of these problems. Whether it is the state of misinformation that leads to wars or failure to treat things like the pandemic, these issues are out of my control. By expressing my concerns in my art, I hope to contribute to the conversation. I want to invoke conversation, rather than try to shape someone else’s views or change their mind. These works of art can be viewed from various angles and through the lens of every individual. My intent is to have these works of art sit at the beginning of a conversation about humanity and the state of the planet.

Shared Visual language

In order to create a unified viewing experience, pieces in this series share a consistent visual language. This visual language allows the viewer to connect the different pieces together in an online gallery or physical space.

Landscape is colorful and vibrant. In comparison with the figure and the disaster, the landscape itself is magnificent and imposing. These landscape paintings are depicted at sunset or sunrise, allowing for expressionistic colors.

High horizon line offers a full look into the canvas, with a similar height throughout the pieces (⅔ landscape, ⅓ sky) This high horizon line will allow the paintings to connect between each other in a gallery experience. Keeping this element of the composition the same allows for the different compositions to feel like a unified series.With a focus on nature, these scenes are mostly outside with a wide view of the sky. If these scenes are inside, the landscape is brought into the interior; for example, there might be a mirrored bathroom with wide windows that allows the sky to enter the interior space. This focus on the beauty of the natural world forces the viewer to consider the juxtaposition of the disaster, the earth, and the humans that have caused it.

Surreal combination of the figure in the landscape and the disaster, through the composition and color choices. The figure sits in the landscape in a way that makes it feel like a dream. The moment is frozen in time, whether it is a woman sitting in a field while a fire rages or a man floating down his flooded neighborhood. The surreal nature of these paintings is also emphasized in the treatment of color.

Disaster is not an overwhelming part of the image, it is a small part of the composition. For some of these disasters, they are by nature more hidden. With a piece on the pandemic, it is only by investigating the piece that you discover that the disaster is there.

Capture a vulnerable moment of someone distracted/absorbed in a task or hobby. The vulnerability evokes anxious feelings. I intend to put the viewer in a position where they feel like they can intervene, but are prohibited from doing so. The anxiety I hope to produce is the same as when you wish you could yell at the actor in a horror movie to turn around. The vulnerability highlights the powerlessness that exists both in the figure and, hopefully, the viewer.

Descriptions and names don't focus on the disaster, instead it focuses on the figure and landscape. Examples include “Sunset in the grass” and “Lazy drifting” rather than “Disaster in the forest” and “Flooded neighborhood.” The intent with this is to focus on the beauty of the natural world and fragility of humanity. This allows the viewer to explore the dangers depicted in the painting and sparks conversation around our role in these disasters.

Gallery experience

This series of digital paintings would be brought into a physical gallery space by being printed on canvas. With the unified visual language, these would connect together as they are placed next to each other. A description of the series would show the intent around these works of art.