Curatorial Rationale

This exhibition, consisting of eight pieces made from various mediums, forms a coherent narrative that explores the idea of corruption and acceptance. Drawing inspiration from my personal perceptions and experiences with human connection, I wished to convey that people are complex, their experiences and strife too often leading them to self-destruction, if left unchecked. The story told through these artworks is a tragedy, with a bittersweet resolution.

The first installment of this tale ‘Hunt for Affection’ depicts the beginnings of a relationship, rough and forceful. ‘Lovers’ shows the development into affection, the only point in which the ‘knight’ character and the ‘lord’ character truly understand one another, the fleeting moment of happiness that is always too short in any life. Their partnership progresses in ‘Wandering Eyes’, depicting how the weight each of them place on this relationship differs and thus affects their connection, the lord looking outside and wishing for freedom, but unable to do so, destroys himself. The knight notices, but having already given his heart in full he can only watch mournfully as the lord becomes a monster. Which is illustrated in ‘Return to a Monster’ as the corruption completely takes hold, and so for his own safety, and that of his world, the knight is forced to slay him. The result portrayed in ‘Final Retribution’. The knight is tortured with guilt, pushing everyone away indiscriminately, however through his own strength he is able to shatter the corruption that threatens to overtake him. ‘A Star Dies in Silence’ describes a far future, a record of how the world sees the knight, brave and strong, a star. After the events of the previous works, he is lost, but has found some peace with himself. The final piece ‘North Star’, is an expression of an afterlife with representations of both the knight and his lord traveling together, following the light of the North Star, a symbol of acceptance. These pieces are arranged in chronological order from left to right, so that a cohesive narrative is told when viewing them in order.

The way that the two characters handle their mental struggles which devolve into corruption, juxtapose one another. One being led to destruction, and the other defeating his inner demons. Young and naive, the knight could not save his lord, which is what makes this tale a tragic one, only finding acceptance long after his death.

I was able to use a variety of media and techniques to convey these messages, including linoleum printing, pen-and-ink, digital art with Procreate, mixed media fabric arts, and acrylic & watercolor painting. The different mediums portray the passage of time, with the beginning pieces done in a traditional Japanese ukiyo-e wood print style. The busy maximalist ink of ‘Wandering Eyes’ describes the turmoil in their relationship, with many small symbolic details in the objects around the room. ‘Return to a Monster’ pushes the narrative to conflict, in a graphic-novel style that emphasizes the passage of time with multiple panels. ‘Final Retribution’, and ‘Downward Spiral’ push perspective in order to highlight the scale in the former and intense emotion in the latter. ‘A Star Dies in Silence’ changes the point of view to an outside one with a graphically-styled fake book cover. ‘North Star’ concludes the arc with a painting that makes use of more muted colors to push the main idea of acceptance. Each piece is connected narratively and thematically with a focus on facial expressions and atmosphere/mood as the artistic method to convey the story.

Through my exhibition, I hope that the viewer is one, entertained with the plot, but also is impacted by the message of my work. By taking in the story and meaning that I designed into the artworks, the audience will hopefully leave with a greater sense of self-acceptance. My exhibition acts as a reminder to the viewer not to be too harsh on yourself in the future.