Shirlee De La Rosa Susbilla

“What is your favorite artwork?”

Curatorial Rationale

Within this exhibit, I wanted to illustrate the various problems that we as human beings create due to our selfishness. In this exhibition, I depict humans as various animals that we see in children's books, showing how though we call ourselves the most intelligent animals due to our discoveries and inventions, we are still animals all the same. This also does not excuse the fact that many actions that we have taken to create a bigger and better society have also ended up with us getting hurt within the process as well. We are cruel to one another, we hurt, steal, and damage anything around us as long as we get what we want. This, I believe, is as “wild animal” as it gets. I believe that a few individuals within my audience will be highly shocked with the few  pieces I have created. Art is a method in which one can explain their feelings through imagery instead of words. And many of the highly opinionated subjects within the exhibition pieces may not reflect the thoughts of the audience. Some of the subjects are also highly controversial and may make the audience feel uncomfortable as well. 

Many of the issues that I have explored are both social and political. There are a variety of symbols that I have used for my pieces that indicate both violence and freedom in which many individuals within the audience can pick up upon. My goal within this work is to educate people of various issues that we have as a society that should be addressed. Many of the problems seem very obvious, but the fact that people know that they are obvious proves my point that these issues need to be fixed before society ends up in chaos. As someone who is currently growing up with all these problems shown on the news or even affecting my life as a student, I decided that I wanted to illustrate these struggles in a way where people can understand in a ridiculous and ironic way. I was also inspired by the various political cartoons that I would see within my history textbooks explaining the hypocrisy of various politicians in an overexaggerated fashion. With these ideas in mind, I created this exhibition to my heart's desire. 

I have decided to arrange the artworks in a way where the entirety of the exhibition is balanced when viewed altogether. My pieces are known to have a focal point near the middle, so I also wanted to interpret that within the positioning of my pieces, All the pieces are placed in a pyramid formation, with the bigger pieces located more within the middle of my exhibit than in the sides. Since I have an even amount of work to display, there is no centerpiece. This illustrates my belief of how there is not just one big problem that is important to talk about, but all of the problems that I have illustrated in my pieces are the reason why we are being weighed down.

Shirlee’s Artwork

  • Mouse Trapped

    Mixed media with acrylic paint on cardboard, dollar bill, marker, paper mache, tape, and wire

    36 cm. X 15.7 cm, X 10.1 cm.

    When I was younger, I was inspired by animated Disney movies. But as time went on, I soon realized that Disney started to aim to create their movies for money instead of telling magical stories to inspire people around the globe. I was inspired by political cartoons that criticized important people who have made bad decisions. Steamboat Willie under the mousetrap symbolizes how the Disney company killed itself and its original purpose just to gain every dime and penny from the masses. 

  • Right to Bear Arms

    Mixed media with acrylic paint on cardboard, aluminum foil, clay, glue, marker, mod podge, wooden stir sticks

    14.5 cm. x 15 cm. x 22 cm.

    My inspiration for this piece was the controversial second amendment: the right to bear arms. It would be great to have a long ranged weapon when in danger, but when it gets into the wrong hands, it may end up badly. The bear is dressed up to look like a child, a symbol of the consequences that can happen if a gun gets into the hands of someone who does not have enough responsibility to own one. 

  • A Hissterical Toast

    Mixed media with glass bottle, glue, linoleum print on paper

    6 cm. x 7 cm. X 32 cm

    Thousands of bottles are filled everyday, but some of the liquids that are inside the bottles drown the person into addiction. My piece shows the idea of alcoholism and how it affects everybody. I was inspired by snake wine that a variety of cultures drink. The variety of bottles symbolize how anyone can become affected by this affliction.

  • Heading to a Butter Place

    Mixed media with acrylic on cardboard, deli paper, glue, wire, and zip ties

    25 cm. x 32 cm. x 34 cm.

    This piece is a social commentary about immigration. I was inspired by my own life, since my family moved to America from the Philippines. The monarch butterflies symbolize immigration, since they move to find a place with livable conditions, such as how people also move to different places to find opportunities to live a good life. Butterflies are also a symbol of hope, which is blocked by a chain linked fence that they may not be able to get over.

  • AI Art

    Digital Media; iBisPaintX

    37.9 cm x 35.5 cm

    This art piece is supposed to symbolize the problem that many artists have in the modern time: AI art. AI art is known for taking other peoples art and claiming it is theirs. This is why the raccoon, which is known for being a thief of the animal kingdom, is made out of binary code saying "AI art is not art," when translated. The background is based on the Anti-Ai filters many online artists use to prevent different AI Bots from using it without one's permission. 

  • A Fowl Situation

    Digital Media; iBisPaintX

    30.5 cm x 47.7 cm. 

    This art piece was inspired by my brother, who kept complaining about how much our democracy is deteriorating. I wanted to make it seem like a news report, because that's where many people get their information from. The piece is also supposed to mimic how people usually watch the news. If this piece is seen on one's phone, it looks like you're actually watching the news yourself.

  • Til Death Do Us Part

    Digital Media; iBisPaintX

    22 cm. X 27 cm.

    This art piece is commentary about the LGBTQ+ and pollution. I was inspired by a news article I read that was about two gay penguins, which caused major backlash. The two penguins depicted in this piece are wearing rainbow bow ties and are about to get married. However, the entire place is very dark and filled with pieces of garbage that is polluting the beach. This shows the struggles that many people who are apart of the LGBTQ+ community have, yet are still pushing through. 

  • Lamb Behind the Slaughter

    Charcoal on paper

    30 cm. X 36 cm.

    This art piece is a social commentary on war and violence. In the modern time, many individuals advocate to stop war from occurring, but few are able to make a difference. Individuals are becoming desensitized with the idea of war and have begun glorifying it. The lamb symbolizes how the innocent lives that are lost in battle have suffered, for peace, yet it never comes. This is due to the lack of peace and action that is taken with our government.