2020 Senior Art Show

Senior Art Show 2020

On the cover: Aya Alagha Artwork #7 (series) Photograph [44 x 26 cm]

Featured Artists Aya Alagha……………………………………………………………………… 4 Max Cole…………………………………………………………………………. 12 Tess Eidson…………………………………………………………………….. 17 Aiden Geffros…………………………………………………………………. 23 Katrina Kang…………………………………………………………………… 26 Alden Koenig…………………………………………………………………… 34 Quan (Henry) Le……………………………………………………………… 38 Esther Ndungu………………………………………………………………… 43 Phuong (Hailey) Nguyen…………………………………………………. 48 Trieu (BJ) Nguyen…………………………………………………………… 54 Zoe Peterson…………………………………………………………………… 58 Maeve Pierson………………………………………………………………… 63 Natalie Turner…………………………………………………………………. 68 Zhehao (Jack) Zhang……………………………………………………… 71

Aya Alagha “I came to the United States from Syria as an international student in 2017. Living in two completely different environments gave me the advantage of having a more open-minded understanding of beauty as a concept, that I wanted to communicate through making art.”

Artwork #2

Acrylic on canvas [60 x 46 cm] “I have been personally impacted by the Syrian Civil war. The conflict has continued, despite all the peace initiatives. Recently, my family had to flee the country and become refugees. I find it very important to hold onto hope in such hard times. This artwork is dedicated to Syrian refugees. The red scarf, black cloak, and green eyes represent the Syrian flag. The white dove and the olive branches are symbols of peace.”

Artwork #1

Inktense pencils on white paper 30 cm x 46 cm “In many cultures, peafowls are a symbol of beauty, love, compassion, watchfulness, and kindheartedness. I find many similarities between women and the symbolic characteristics of peafowls.

Mandala is also a symbol of the universe in Buddhist and Hindu cultures. I added this component to draw attention to the important role women play in our lives.�

“My body of work has focused on exploring different visions of human beauty as a theme, and bounced between internal and external perceptions of beauty.”

Artwork #3 Acrylic on wood [96 x 66 cm]

“Motherhood is a very noble commitment that requires tremendous patience and sacrifice. Pregnancy is the precious stage in which a strong bond starts developing between a mother and her child. The love, warmth, and purity in this stage are unmatched. It is for this reason I am dedicating this artwork to honoring mothers and the effort they put forth to take care of their children. The female figure in this painting is pregnant, and the globe painted on her baby belly symbolizes how children mean ‘the world’ to their mothers.”

Artwork #4

Acrylic on canvas [66 x 24 cm] “I am interested in exploring diverse, culturally-relative perceptions of human beauty. This piece highlights the uniqueness of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. In order to communicate this diversity, I painted four canvases, each from a different race and represents a quarter of a face. I used a white background in order to emphasize the fact that, regardless of race, all humans are beautiful and equal.”

Artwork #4

Artwork #5

Glass, beads, and buttons on glass tile [30 x 20 cm] “We, humans, go through many experiences that accumulate to shape us. Some add to our personalities and lives, others tear us apart, and some even restructure our whole being. We are all products of a multitude of different moments that, when added together, tailor our beautiful existence. I used glass mosaic to represent this idea because it shows how differently-colored glass pieces can come together and shape an identifiable figure. I used different colors to convey the different types of experiences one can go through.”

Artwork #5

“This exhibition is a selfreflection on some of the definitions/aspects of beauty that I have come across. I wanted to create art that people from different backgrounds and experiences could understand and relate to.”

Artwork #6

Reduction print, ink on paper [30 x 30 cm] “I personally struggle with the idea of growing old, not because I fear how different I will look, but because the uncontrollable passage of time makes me feel helpless. This artwork gives us an insider look at how it feels to grow old. There is a reflection of an old lady inside an antique, ornamented mirror frame. The presence of the mirror adds a visually aesthetic object that represents awareness of the life stage one has reached.

The cracks in the mirror are a symbol of the impaired general view around aging.”

Artwork #7 (series) Photographs [44 x 26 cm]

“Inspired by the idea that one can create artworks on another level when there is a strong personal connection, I completed a photo session of my friend, Esther. The theme of this session revolved around her personality and my connection with her. In the first photograph, the subject has subtle facial expressions to represent the passive impression she conveys when first meeting her. The second photograph is a close-up on the subject’s face and contains stronger facial expressions, emphasizing the energetic personality she reveals after getting to know her. The close-up indicated opening up about emotions and the choice of vibrant colors was to match the subject’s personality.”

Artwork #8

Oil pastel on black paper [46 x 30 cm] “Many people choose to judge others only by taking appearances and shallow impressions into consideration. However, there is always more to a person than just their looks. I was inspired to create this artwork after realizing the ability of the negative filter to completely change color schemes. By turning light portions into dark and vice versa, the filter in this context symbolizes how a different perspective can shed new light on one's understanding of a person or situation. The serious facial expressions and the powerful stare of the eyes represent honesty. [Below] is the negative filter of the artwork.�

Artwork #9

Colored pencils on white paper [60 x 46 cm] “This piece communicates the idea of solidarity. It is very important for all women to come together and support one another in such a time when there is enormous pressure put on women all over the world. The female figures in this picture are interconnected, fading into one another. They stand behind each other because 'they got each others’ back.’ The different colors represent the diverse ideologies and personalities the women possess, and their varying facial structures symbolize intersectionalism/intersectional feminism.”

Max Cole

Warped

Blender 3D (digital application) [25.4 x 20 cm] “The intention of [this] artwork was to explore the paradox of randomness. The dull monotone head was meant to be a contrast point for the complexity of shapes and lines seeping through the shell. The intention of creating a digital artwork was to outline this contrast and to make the viewer focus on the lines in the head–which while they may appear to have a pattern, are calculated to be truly random.”

Goldenhead Modelling clay, plaster, acrylic, gold leaf [25.4 x 15 x 27.9 cm] “[This] was the first interpretation I took on the paradox of the inner and outer self.

The piece is intended to be a criticism on how we see self, and how we are expected to represent ourselves in society. The gold leaf tears are the center idea of the work, and represent the views of vulnerability in society by showing that it is human and beautiful, or ‘golden,’ to show sadness, anger, or fear.”

Goldenhead

Flowerhead

Pencil, colored pencil [30 x 39.3 cm] “The intention of [this] exhibition piece was to explore the beauty in life and death.

This paradox is ever relevant, as life and death occur every day, one making room for the other, and the piece is meant to show beauty in that process. The skull is a classic symbol for death, while the flowers that seep through the crevices and adorn the head stand for prosperity. These factors come together to transform the grotesque image of the skull into something beautiful, representing the need for both decay and creation.”

Flowerhead

Gas Mask of the Future (2020)

Twin Snakes

Spray paint, acrylic [52 x 52 cm]

“The intention of [this] piece was to show the paradox in light and dark. The twin snakes, one white and one black are representative of the ancient greek symbol for healing, the Rod of Asclepius, which is where the symbol for modern pharmacies and hospitals originate from. The relation of this is to show the importance in the acceptance of the paradox of light and dark, pain and happiness, in healing.”

Twin Snakes

Goldenhead (2020)

Gas Mask of the Future

Pencil, pen, watercolor [30 x 43 cm]

“The intention of [this] exhibition piece was to begin to expand on my theme of “paradoxes” by exploring the distinction between the manmade world and nature. Humanity comes from nature, yet we don’t necessarily show it the respect for being our “creator”. The flower is being sucked up by the mask, providing life while also losing its own. Humankind relies on taking from the earth for survival, but at what point is it excess? This is the question the piece aims to inspire. At what point are we just sucking it all up?”

Gas Mask of the Future

Monkey/Man Spray paint [218.4 x 162.5 cm]

“[This] exhibition piece was meant to represent the paradox of humanity, and to criticize what it means to be happy. In the search for better technology and better lives can we truly say we are more happy than our evolutionary counterpart? This is a central idea to the piece, and is represented in the text that reads “shock the monkey”. Will we live out our same boring, normal lives, or will we do something to ‘shock the monkey’?”

Innocence Acrylic paint [45.7x91.4cm]

“The intention was to show the paradox in consumption of media and was an exploration into a more political paradox. The piece shows a collage of colorful symbols surrounding a child soldier. The bright colors contrast the black and white figure, meant to represent how issues in the media are made to look colorful, and this is the side we see, while the experience of the people involved is vastly different. Everything surrounding the child [is in color], while he himself is lacks color altogether.�

Tess Eidson “While we are all individual beings, composed of unique features, at our core, we are part of the greater ecosystem that forms life and nature.

As a part of nature we live, we grow, and we die. Such is the process of life and such is the cycle that all living things abide to. My pieces of art reflect this fundamental truth and bring light to the similarities and differences of all living things. With vibrant and natural color, form, texture, and shape, my work as a whole exhibits how art can imitate life. In this imitation, all living things alike are actors in the natural scene, from plants to animals to humans, we are all part of nature.

From the ground up, my exhibit encourages viewers to see life as an expanse of individual and worldly growth, each person and living thing adding color to every experience we make until the very end.”

Figures in Oil Pastel Chalk, oil pastels [66 x 170 cm]

“This abstraction represents how every living being is connected through existence. By using natural colors and cardboard, a recyclable substance that I reused, I represent not only our connection to each other but our connection to nature and life as well.”

Whispers in Black and White Sharpie Pen [124 x 27 cm]

“This piece is an example of stream of consciousness. While stream of conscious has traditionally been used in literature and in psychology I used it to depict my inner thoughts as artistic ideas. The multitude of contents in this piece paint an image of my everyday life and thoughts. As you can see the symbolism of this piece relates greatly to the concept of life and death and the natural process. Images of skeletons and plants, dead and living show a clear connection to how my thought process experiences this concept.�

Playing with Fire Acrylic paint, chalk [62 x 83 cm]

“My intention for this piece was to emphasize the relationship between life and death. Although the hands are painted with color and texture that resemble life, the way in which they are positioned with a red snake coiled around them symbolizes the acceptance of death. Leaves ascend up the painting in a lively manner, yet the vibrant red of the leaves makes them easily comparable with fire.

While leaves resemble life, fire resembles destruction and death; combining these 2 aspects connects symbolism of life with death. The piece dances around the idea that one cannot exist without the other.�

As the Sun Dries Our Skin Pen, card stock, pressed flowers [46 x 79 cm]

“This piece depicts three women, separated by a barrier of color; different in close comparison, but sharing many features. When looked upon closely, one can see that as the colors change from yellow to red outlining their faces, the facial expressions go from lighthearted to sad.

This symbolized the changes that we experience as we develop from children to adults. It seems the older one gets, the more one understands pain. The use of real pressed flowers in the piece emphasize life and death as the flowers are placed with each section except the final face, paired with minimalistic flowers.�

Love In Colors Acrylic paint [52 x 42 cm]

“This piece is my own interpretation of Holly Warburton’s piece, Sisters. My piece is more abstract because the abstractness demonstrates our inability to understand the depths of love and life. The Nature of life is that it ends, but in my painting one may notice the sisters hands overlapping the black and bright red border that some may interpret as the boundary of love: death, thus questioning the boundaries of love. If love lives on after death, does life exceed death too?”

Love In Colors

Kinda Kids Cover Art Pen, markers [45 x 49 cm]

“This piece was created as cover art for my band’s first album release. Like many of my pieces, it erupts with bright colors. However, while humans are a natural source of life, the colors seem unnatural and incoherent with reality. This represents the aspect of humanity that tends to hide itself from its environment as a result of insecurity. The hand covering most of the girls face drives across this idea that our insecurities divide us from our environment and what we are meant to be.”

Kinda Kids Cover Art

Grass-ping for Air Clay [22 x 42 cm]

“This symbolized the increasingly prevalent concern of humanity’s attempt to protect nature. The use of form through 3D structure which makes it more realistic resembles the reality of the situation we face with global climate change. Additionally, the rough texture of the hands and the stained earthy colors compare similarly to that of soil in which things grow. This decision was made on purpose in order to symbolize that the only way things will continue to grow is if we go green in our use of resources and make a conscious effort to reduce our environmental footprint on this earth.”

Grass-ping for Air

Threads of Life Denim, thread [30 x 30 cm]

“Within this piece we see a series of c o l o r f u l t h re a d s w e a v e d c l o s e l y together to depict a woman sitting in a room with an eye above her. The use of embroidery in this scene creates a symbol of life; each thread adds to the grander picture, bringing its own colorful addition in the same way that each person adds color to our life. The eye, at first glance may seem random, but when looking closer resembles nature’s eye looking over everything.”

Threads of Life

Aiden Geffros

Staring Man

Pencil [24.75 x 30.75 cm] “For this piece, I focused on creating a realistic face of a person, with a slight twist. I decided to make the eyes larger than those of an average person to sell my message of vulnerability. In my opinion, the eyes are one of the most vulnerable parts of a person and when someone can see into one’s eyes in their purest form, it is something truly beautiful. I wanted to create the same idea with this piece by making the eyes larger and trying to make them a bigger focus of the overall piece.�

Torn to Pieces

Shredded paper on mask [13.33 x 18.75 cm] “To me, Masks are always worn in an attempt to hide something, which connects deeply with vulnerability. In order to capture this meaning of masks, I wrapped a plain mask with torn pieces of paper, so it appeared that the wearer of this mask was closing the door inside of himself so he didn’t feel vulnerable. In addition, I also added 6 different words that I felt represented vulnerability to me to represent the different times when someone would try to hide themselves when feeling vulnerable.�

Torn to Pieces

Shredded paper on mask [13.33 x 18.75 cm] “I was dealing with a shoulder injury and I wanted to find a new medium that would allow me to express the feelings I had about it. In this picture, I wanted to capture the sense of vulnerability that I felt in my experience with my injury. I did this by blurring out the face and editing the image so it appeared like it was in a field, giving the viewer a feeling of isolation. By creating a feeling of isolation, it makes the model appear more vulnerable and alone.�

Katrina Kang

Untitled (2020) Medium

Tibetan Woman and the Prayer Wheel Oil on Canvas [41cm x 49 cm]

Untitled (2020) Medium

“Even though I was surrounded by the Chinese culture for more than ten years, I realized that there was a neglected culture, that motived me to look at rural regions." “Three years ago, I came to the United States; a different culture from where I was raised. Until I realized why people frequently asked what my identity was, my intentions for this art collection evolved. Even though I knew Chinese culture really well, it is important to present information and express myself in front of others. With that in mind, the overall theme was developed as Chinese culture and Asian culture. I created nine pieces in total, and all of them are tightly related to the theme of Asian culture.�

The Countryside

Camera and luster paper [31 x 41 cm] “Last summer, I was amazed by the rural countryside in China; a neglected part of Chinese history. The four photographs present the road, storage, chicken cages, and the kitchen, which all reflected the culture of self sufficiency in many Asian culture present and in the past few decades.�

God with a Lotus Acrylic paint, paint pens [41 x 51 cm]

“I believe that every culture has a value and should be known and appreciated. I was inspired by the Ramayana epic and the gods Hanuman and Kesari. I hope the god figures in Hindu epics are symbols to indicate my understanding of Hinduism and bring the understanding to a broad audience. Since many Hindu sculptures are made with gold or other reflective metals, acrylic paints, gold and white paint pens are most suitable when depicting the brightness and the reflections on the figures.�

Yangzhou ⼩小街 Watercolor on paper [40 x 45 cm]

Yangzhou ⼩小街

“I have read many fiction and non-fiction novels and stories about Ming and Qing dynasties, about which I was inspired to create this piece. Forbidden Palace is one of the most well-known palaces in China, a classic representation of Chinese and Asian culture. Many people know about the Forbidden Palace because of the glory and significance in history. However, citizens were forbidden to enter the palace was forbidden throughout Ming and Qing dynasties. Therefore, the wall is about 26 feet tall, which is where the title of the piece comes from. Since many emperors, royal families, and servants barely had a chance to leave the palace throughout their entire lives, it was depressing for me to think how they spent their entire life in there. Thus, I want to use red walls to represent the Forbidden Palace as a cage, and tell the story of palace life from a different perspective.”

Treasure in Danger Ink and Xuan paper [68 x 75 cm]

“Pandas are national animals of China are in extremely danger, even when they are well taken care of. Therefore, I would love to deliver the message that we cannot allow such precious animals to go extinct. The medium of Ink and Xuan Paper are two of four treasures of the study in ancient China, which also ties to my overall theme.”

Treasure in Danger

Series Street Snacks Camera and luster paper [21 x 31 cm]

“I believe that the food of any culture can truly represent unique culture and living styles. For this piece, I wanted to show the street foods to the audience because street foods are a special symbol that reflects people’s life a thousand years ago in Chinese history. I was inspired by my parents’ memory of street foods in their childhood, so I went to some very old streets to look for the most classical street snacks.”

Series Street Snacks #2

Series Street Snacks #1

芸者

Ink tense and fabric [50 x 57 cm] “I was inspired by the Japanese artist Utamaro Kitagawa who was famous for observing the Geisha culture and the Ukiyo-e style. Nowadays, Ukiyo-e is well known and has become a very important part of Asian arts.

Since many people think that Asian culture are relatively conservative, I actually decided to use Geisha to tell people that there is a culture that is also open minded with regard to sex.”

Maid in the Palace

Paper clay and gold thread [52 x 9 x 6 cm] “Tang dynasty is one of the most well-known dynasties in Chinese history. Tang culture is also so significant that many other cultures in Asia are strongly influenced by the Tang dynasty. I also enjoyed their values of beauty: Tang people think that beautiful women should be strong and healthy just like men, which is actually a promoted idea in the present world, and Tang culture advocates for this idea. Thus, I believe that an art piece from Tang dynasty could reflect the Asian culture somehow. The sculpture was inspired by many wonderful artifacts I have seen in museums around the world. I believe that the hairstyle and accessories represent the distinct hairstyle from the Tang dynasty. Paper clay and gold thread are used to design and ensemble the sculpture and maid’s hair accessories similarly to the ones made in Tang dynasty.”

26 Feet Above Watercolor on paper [36 x 35 cm]

“I asked my friend who from Yangzhou, a beautiful ancient city, to take a photo for me, and used it as a reference to paint the piece with water color. I would like to show my audience how an old city looks like in China when many cities are modernized. I also want to emphasize that when our heritages are replaced by urban buildings and industry, it is important to protect the rich culture as well. And this piece also reflected the theme: we all should value and be proud of our culture and enjoy the intelligence, beauty, and history behind them.�

Alden Koenig

An Obstruction in the Landscape Charcoal on brown paper, magazine cuttings [60 x 46 cm]

“My intention for this piece was to portray how consumerism is infiltrating and destroying some of the West’s most iconic landscapes.

Consumerism in the modern world is taking from our beautiful planet and giving nothing in return. In this piece, I chose to place a magazinecutting outline of a cowboy on a horse at the center to represent how these landscapes are changing. It is also meant to represent how our focus as humans is shifting from nature’s natural beauty to wasteful consumer ways.”

The Absent One and the Trash Trout Sharpie, watercolor on paper, magazine cuttings [30 x 46 cm]

“The trout is a symbol of the Western world’s blue-green water that flows through beautiful landscapes. However, in recent times, these wonderful fish have become less and less populated due to the increase in pollutants being dumped in rivers and dams blocking waterways. This piece is meant to represent the beauty of our Western rivers and lakes, which we must protect, as well as the absence of fish (represented by the “ghost” fish) and pollutants in the water (represented by the trout outline made out of magazine cuttings).”

The Absent One and the Trash Trout

Recycled Tin Horse

Redwood, wood stain, recycled tin cans [30 x 15 x 22.5 cm] “I was greatly inspired by artist Deborah Butterfield for this piece as she takes recycled materials, such as wood and metal, and creates scale models of farm animals. Art made of recycled materials are a great representation of the amount of waste we contribute to the world and how much we are consuming at an individual level. When one thinks about the Old West, they immediately see a cowboy riding a horse through the wide open. Therefore, I chose a horse to make out of recycled tin for this piece as the horse is an iconic image of the Old West. I chose to create a very simplistic model by solely focusing on the shape and leaving out any detail to emphasizes the use of the recycled tin cans.”

Recycled Tin Horse

Beginnings

Sharpie, watercolor on paper, pencil [38.5 x 30 cm] “My intention for this piece was to create a dull and cold modern scene in order to highlight a symbol of warmth and nature. As the western world becomes more modern and cuts into beautiful landscapes, it is depriving us of the simple beauty of enjoying our surroundings. The painting of a campfire in this piece is a symbol of outdoor recreation which contrasts the bleak modern art museum. The two people sitting and looking at the painting are meant to represent our modern relationship with nature: distant and exclusive.�

The Consumer’s Lunch

Camera, photoshop, photograph paper, acrylic paint [25 x 20 cm] “The western world’s obsession with consuming beef is extremely harmful to the environment. Beef cows consume on average 30 gallons of water a day, which is enormous considering how many cows are being raised in America each year. My intention for this piece was to represent how cows are detrimental to the environment using a mixture of mediums. I chose to take a picture of a cow near our family farm on a cold and gloomy winter day to give the piece a dark atmosphere. I then used photoshop to enhance the color of the field so it would contrast the dark brown cow. I then painted over the cow using acrylic, which created a neat contrast with the matte paint on top of the glossy photograph paper. ”

Quan (Henry) Le “Choosing “Family” as my main theme, I want to artistically express my gratitude towards my parents, who have loved me unconditionally and sacrificed a lot to raise me and get me to where I am today.”

Cubic Love Oil pastel [28 x 28 cm]

“Cubic love portrays a family as an integrated, inseparable whole abstract cube. It effectively emphasizes a primary, yet sacred and powerful unity: a child share with its parents the same flesh and blood. As time goes by, the presence of the child tightens their connection with each other, including the love between its parents. Ultimately, a true family is created when each member can’t live happily without the presence of love from others, like a cube. The different colors represent up-and-down moments of life that a family went through together, as fundamental fabrics to their personalities.”

The Thread

Personal camera and digital editing programs [20 x 25 cm] “The Thread is inspired by a traditional concept in Japanese culture, called Musubi: a thread of fate that spiritually ties human destinies together. However, in this art piece, Musubi manifests as an image of a red thread in the background that connects not two people, but two places: my current residence in the U.S–Boise–and my hometown city in Vietnam–Ho Chi Minh City. Through the art piece, I want to express my realization of the integration between my living locations and my family: as I become more and more attached to these places, they have become an extended version; a bigger landscape of my original family.”

Under the Light

Pencils and color pencils on paper [26 x 32 cm] “The art piece, for the most part, reflects my personal experience of how thoughts of my family helped me overcome difficult times as a firstyear student in the U.S. The painting portrays a man working late in desolation. The color shaded “silhouettes” represents his resonating thoughts and problems that he struggles with, which has exhausted him physically and emotionally. What keeps him sane and focused are thoughts of having his family supporting him, without their actual presence. Under The Light promotes the intangible, unbreakable and extremely powerful bond between family members that exceed all physical constraints.”

Natural Family

Chinese black ink and water color on paper [30 x 38 cm] “All Vietnamese are taught as a child a proverb about the importance of family. It basically compares the efforts that a father spent to raise his child as the greatness of a mountain, and the emotions and love a mother saves for her babies to the calming, balmy flow of water. Inspired by the proverb, Natural Family is my artistic observation of the metaphorical image of family love hidden in nature: similar to the way a baby is raised by its mother and father, the livelihood of the merchant in the painting depends on the mountains and seas he’s surrounded by.”

Everlasting Fires Watercolor on paper [32 x 44 cm]

“Like an everlasting fire, the love that parents give to their children always glitters with protective warmth, bringing them both the physical safety and the emotional support that they need during the darkest times. Similar to love, a fire can take on many forms and states, harsh or tranquil.The composition of the painting transfers the idea of selfless sacrifice: parents are willing to slowly give away their source of life (ignition) to their children until they’ve grown enough to shine and cope with outside threats on their own.”

Broken Abyss

Watercolor on paper with cut paper figures [25 x 34 cm] “Similar to the way marriage invigorates and bring new meanings to couple life, divorce and separation can be life-changing to who experienced them. However, the most heavily damaged would always be their children. Broken Abyss illustratively portrays the consequences when two human beings are no longer in love, leaving their child stuck in a fragmented childhood, filled with pain, hopelessness, and heartbreaks, represented by the fall into the abyss in the center. Through my artwork, I want to advocate for family unity and the undeniable rights of children to getting the care and love from their parents.�

Esther Ndungu “All of my pieces embodied the theme of art in medicine with the sub-theme of interconnectedness of body parts and to the art of medicine.”

“The first pieces, Hii sanaa ya dawa and The stethoscope used specific imagery about the instruments used in medicine to show how they are as tailored to the artistry of medicine as a paintbrush is to a painter. The third piece Your First portrayed the message about the choices we make with our bodies. It symbolized the effects of cigarette on the lungs and by using feathers, a very delicate medium; I emphasized the fragility of the lungs.”

The stethoscope

Hii sanaa ya dawa

Hii sanaa ya dawa

Your first

“In the fourth, fifth and sixth pieces I used organs as my main body of focus. They were under the sub-theme of interconnectedness of body organs. The mediums used: Plaster for “The Bond” and string “Robust” and “By Association” conveyed the strength of the body’s relation with each organ and their importance to the body’s overall function. In most of the pieces, the colour/ hue of red is largely used to convey the principle colour of the inside of the body.”

The Bond Plaster

Robust

By Association

String, newspaper

String, newspaper

Phuong (Hailey) Nguyen

Is this the tree?

Photograph [54.3 x 36.4 cm]

“There are always two sides to a story. In this artwork, I employ a more old-school take on lenticular technique, which complements the modern print of the photos really well. The images can be seen in two different ways from two different angles, implying that we never know what is really going on with someone or something unless we take on a different perspective. One moment we could see a thriving tree in beautiful summer weather, the next we could be faced with a withered tree withstanding the strong winds of winter.�

“My body of work reflects my interest in examining the theme of Depression and Anxiety from a more empathetic perspective.”

Untitled (2020) Medium

Untitled (2020) Medium

Reaching for the Light

Watercolor and watercolor pencils on paper [31.3 x 43.8 cm] “Socrates once said: Let him that would move the world, first move himself. He denotes a beginning, a point of departure–the hardest part of the journey. Depression is like the body of an ocean: endless, cold, and disorienting.

However, the girl, despite being handcuffed by dumbbells of depression and anxiety, still attempts to reach for the light, or hope. That is the hardest part of the journey of combating depression–realizing that it is normal to ask for help and be open about the struggles. The artwork reminds us to be kind-hearted and open to help somebody who is reaching out to us.”

Expectations versus Reality Watercolor pencils on paper [33.7 x 33.7 cm]

“‘A girl passed away because of constant starvation to fit in the popular model.’

Depression comes in any form and could come from anywhere. In my artwork, I am depicting how girls struggle to pull off an image to please the public eye. I divide the surroundings of the girl into two parts, forming a collage: one half is the somber reality of struggles with self-worth, and the other half is sugar-coated titles of advertisement, photos, articles,...that drive many to believe in the non-existent perfect and foreverhappy lifestyle. This piece reflects the new dangerous cause of depression: social media.”

Just be a lady

Watercolor on paper [47 x 31.5 cm] “'Don’t say yes, don’t say no, just be a lady they said.’ This quote reminds us of the expectations and the ideology of femininity that are infringed upon women. Such rooted norms are constant sources of stress for many people. The artwork features a blend of both abstract and realistic influence on collage-making. Red and blue bring about great value contrast but still serve the purposes of connecting pieces following the essence of collage. Repetition in patterns of black roses and red roses are intentional, to accentuate the contrast in symbol (death-black and hope-red).

Preposterous, yet stands as expectations for women. Doesn’t that make us all ponder?”

Negligence

Watercolor pencils on paper [36.3 x 29 cm] “We come across news and statistics on depression everyday. Yet, mental illness has always been marginalized through the idea of victim-blaming: it is just a phase; they do that to look cool. The black montage of news around the girl represents the darkness of taboo towards the topic of depression and anxiety. The contrast in colors and the way that the montage shapes around the girl creates an illusion of ‘veil of ignorance.’ The symbols add to the cohesiveness of the piece, through the idea that ‘time is ticking’: hourglass, dice that spell suicide, and a dying plant.”

The Box

Acrylic on wood, origami paper (flowers) “What is on the outside does not always reflect the inside. A polished wooden box prevents viewers from figuring out the inside, just like the way one conceals her soul from the rest of the world. The decorations of a flourishing garden implies the glory one puts on display. The truth is on the inside, a dying soul represented by three roses at its three stages of life: bud, blooming, and shriveling. It takes only one step to open the box, but who knows what is waiting on the inside, whether it is solvable or too late. ”

Butterfly in Glass Box Wire, glass [15 x 14.7 x 14.7cm]

“I used wire as my medium and took on an abstract approach to shape it to the model of a butterfly. The joints are intentionally bulky and messy as it represents ill thoughts; no matter how they try to blend in, they cannot conceal the mess of mental illness. On the other hand, the gems are used to symbolize small pieces of hope. The idea of opening the gift box embodies an important meaning: it takes oneself to see the light at the end of the tunnel to get out of the vicious circle of depression.”

Jealousy

Watercolor on paper [38.7 x 31.1 cm]

“‘Do not let the serpent of envy enter your body; it is a serpent which gnaws at the brain and corrupts the heart.’ The artwork features a green snake, the symbol of jealousy, strangling the heart, with an abstract background mimicking the anatomical surrounding of the rib-cage. This piece warned us of the intrinsic but deadly existence of envy, waiting for the perfect moment to break us down, causing us pain, stress and anxiety. Before we know it, something as simple as comparing ourselves to others could spiral out of control and turn into self-torment.”

Trieu (BJ) Nguyen

Untitled (2020) Medium

Untitled (2020) Medium

“I wanted to use my art to express nature that revolves around the sun, but has other components to it. The sun isn’t only the protagonist in my art journey but it also helps me shine in the exhibition.”

A Red Evening Acrylic oil on canvas [30 x 40 cm]

“Even though this is labeled as one artwork, it includes two paintings that look relatively similar. This is in fact a comparison of the sunset from different angles. The first one, where there is a tree and the ground, the viewpoint is directly in front of the sun where the 2D view helps viewers understand the setting of the sunset. The second drawing gives viewers a 3D sense of the sun from a much higher viewpoint. The higher it goes, the less of a view can be observed, but the deeper and more intriguing the scene will be.”

Sunflower

Watercolor on paper [41 x 45 cm] “This is a painting I did to portray the sun in a different way. In this artwork, I employed a technique from my Vietnamese culture called texture decoration. As displayed in my artwork, there are a lot of lines, curves, colors, but especially what made this so common and favorable is its symmetry. Looking at this picture’s symmetry, viewers can tell the artwork is made up of four symmetrical quarters. With the combination of these alike but intangible quarters, this painting would catch viewers off guard if they have not been able to realize it stands for the sun.”

Sunflower

My town

Acrylic oil on foam [30 x 42 cm] “I decided to go beyond just the sun itself: the general view. The painting you are witnessing is a typical drawing of a countryside view that teachers in Vietnam have always taught us since we were kids: a simple drawing includes a tree, grass, a river, the sun and the sky. Not simply drawing it with pencil, I made the tree and the sun with foam so there is a bit of depth and 3D view in 2D drawing. This way, the pattern across the sky, the depth of the foam objects, and the calmness of the river and ground have enlivened the whole artwork.”

My town

Downtown & My backyard Photographs [20 x 25 cm]

“In this piece, I took a picture of the view myself, and once again, from different viewpoints. The first picture I took of the sunset view at the ground level downtown area. From this angle, it looks as if the sun is no longer the main subject, but it’s the view. The traffic, people and building makes up a wonder typical evening downtown area. The second picture takes the sun back to where it stands. Here the view is no longer as lively as before, but rather deeper and in higher contrast.”

Downtown

My backyard

Total Solar Eclipse

Photograph [12 x 18 cm]

“In this collage, I want to share the moment I was fortunate enough to have a chance to witness the total solar eclipse in 2017. Especially, I want viewers to grab a sense of what it’s like to be a regular person watching this incident rather than being able to retell it with crystalclear pictures of the moon and sun lining up that are no different from those posted on google. In the collage, you can see what the total solar eclipse actually looks like from the ground for those who never got a chance to witness it.�

Zoe Peterson

A Unified Mountain Collage on Wooden Board [86 x 25 cm]

“When I was younger, I loved making collages. I would cut up my mom’s old magazines and fill pages with whimsical scenes. I found National Geographic magazines in my art classroom and started ripping out pages. By taking images of mountains from around the world and making them into one mountain range, I wanted to express the unity nature should bring us. Regardless of where you are from or what you believe, we all live on the same Earth and all of our mountains are under the same sky.”

The Colorful Sierras Acrylic on Wooden Board [45.5 x 60.5 cm]

“I used acrylic on board to create an interpretation of a section of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. I divided the mountain range into three sections based on the type of rocks that were in each section. For example, the orange section is cliffs and the green was boulders and shrubs. By dividing the mountain range into section based on the textures I saw, and painting them in different colors with different techniques, I wanted to highlight how unique everything is in nature.�

Natural Perfection Photographs [20 x 28 cm]

“In this series of photographs, I was inspired by Andy Goldsworthy to work with nature instead of merely represent it. Goldsworthy creates patterns in his art using either shape, color, or line as a unifying factor. I chose to unify these two photographs using shape: a circle. The physical art I made was impermanent, and destroyed naturally shortly after I created it. Like Goldsworthy, I wanted to capture a scene from nature’s constant, ever-changing motion.”

The Sawtooth

Stanley Brand Saw on Wood [75 x 23 x 35 cm] “I was inspired to do this piece when hiking in the Sawtooth Mountain Range in Stanley, Idaho. I liked the connection between both the word saw and Sawtooth, as well as between a rusty saw and images of the woods that conjures. I used a table grinder to cut the outline of the Sawtooths, and then a hand file to add detail. I wanted to do a piece showing the age of mountain range and their permanent feel, similar to a saw left to rust. I am presenting it embedded in a log to give the impression of it still being a saw.�

Overgrown

Chalk on Cardboard [113 x 83 cm] “In this chalk and cardboard exhibition piece, I was trying to express the wild nature and beauty seen in organic material. I was inspired by Jim Dine’s chalk drawings, specifically by his range of color and use of depth. I tried to reflect both of these things in my artwork by using darker colors in the background and brighter colors in the foreground. This artwork shows the beauty and range of colors in things like weeds and undergrowth that usually go unnoticed in nature. ”

Maeve Pierson Wolf

Mixed media paper collage, paper on pen [58 x 88 cm] “The wolf, a symbol of courage, strength, loyalty, and success in Native American culture, has since become an adversary of many throughout the west. In tribes such as the Shoshone, the wolf is believed to be the “fierce creator God,” while the Kwakuite tribe tells stories of their ancestors evolving from wolves to men.

In this exhibition, I captured the majestic nature of the wolf and its layered identify by using stark contrast between the wolf and collage of western maps in the background. The wolf is housed inside the shape of Idaho, my home, and one of the places wolves used to freely roam.”

This Surreal World

Ink on paper, photography, digital editing [50 x 50 cm] “This artwork was inspired by the work of Canadian artist Marcel Dzama. The different colors and stark contrast between the different elements are intended to instill a sense of organized chaos. The sharp lines, outlined in black pen, emphasize the shape of the figures, providing a sense of structure among the distorted nature of their anatomies. The message of my piece concerns the absurdity of our world and above all, the juxtaposition of figures around the buffalo represent how the sanity of our world has become so detached from reality, it seems like we are living on a different planet.”

Divided Heart

acrylic, watercolor, ink pen collaged on paper background with paint marker [54.5 x 61 cm] “The background of this artwork is a simple outline of a heart drawn in white paint marker to contrast the black paper. The collaged pieces of paper which each have different designs or images inside represent different emotions and things I care about. The heart is often a symbol of human emotions despite the brain being the scientific epicenter of our personalities. Using this symbolism, color, and detailed pen sketches, I created a distinctly personal composition that conveys layers of my emotions and interests and how these things battle for attention in my life.”

Identities: Series

Ink on paper, photography, digital editing [22.5 x 19.5 cm each] “The first artwork in this series is an original block print in which I printed the same design three times to create layers. I used black ink on a white background to create intense contrast. This series symbolizes human identities.

Each artwork in the series has a different background representing each individual’s unique story and the many dimensions to his / her identity. Despite often being condemned to a single identity, this series symbolizes the ever-changing nature of who we are, constantly learning and growing, evolving in our personalities and experiences.�

Beyond Bolivia

Photography, magazine collage [57 x 46 cm] “This photograph, taken in Tiquipaya, Bolivia, aims to tell the story of a complex and beautiful village. I visited Bolivia where my brother was living and working during his gap year, not knowing what to expect. Upon arrival, my preconceived notions were immediately challenged as the environment I observed was bursting with culture, colors, and struggle unlike anything I had ever seen before. This is one of my favorite pictures I took on my trip. To emphasize the “layers” of the village, I collaged magazine clippings into the image which are symbolic of the nuanced beauty in Tiquipaya.”

Subtle World

Paint pen, cut-out paper, pen, collaged on foam board [76 x 51.5 cm] “The background of this artwork is a surreal garden, drawn using a white paint pen to contrast the black background. Different insects were then drawn on separate pieces of paper, cut out, and collaged into the garden and sky throughout the composition. This artwork represents the nature of humans to overlook ‘layers’ of life beyond the surface, neglecting to observe events happening behind the scenes. In this composition, the insects symbolize what is often overlooked. Beyond the flowers is an ecosystem sustained by millions of other organisms which we often fail to recognize.”

Natalie Turner Through a Window “In the painting, a beautiful landscape of Taiwan is seen through the window of a dull gray room. The woman sitting at the desk is meant to depict the artist’s friend from Taiwan who is looking out of the window longly. The image is meant to express the feeling of homesickness. The feeling is represented by the contrasting colors between the room and the landscape.”

Kenyan Colors

Self Image

“This portrait depicts a Kenyan friend of the artist. The portrait sits against a black background to bring emphasis to the traditional bright Kenyan colors. The combination of many bright colors is often found in the patterns of Kenyan fabrics and clothing. The portrait is meant to symbolize the proudly worn Kenyan identity of the woman and the influence the culture has had upon her as a person.”

“This art piece shows a morphed self-portrait etched into a mirror. The figure is meant to represent body dysmorphia and how it impacts the perspective on self-image. The large stomach, thin legs, and visible rib cage are exaggerated in the portrait to highlight the features deemed undesirable by societal standards.”

Untitled

Zhehao (Jack) Zhang “Life might be hard, but people can solve their problems if they have positive attitudes in their life.”

Nice Happy Fine Brave Model magic on canvas [35 x 45 cm]

“Nice Happy Fine Brave is mainly built by four model magic words Nice, Happy, Fine and Brave. Each of them has a different color orange, red, blue and green which means the four-season: fall, summer, winter, and spring. The means of this artwork is to encourage people should be positive throughout the whole year.

Life might be hard, but people can solve their problems if they have positive attitudes in their life.”

Don’t Give Up Photos on canvas [91 x 60 cm]

“Don’t Give Up is the word art artwork that encourages people to fight harder for themselves in their life. People can read the sentence: Life is hard, don’t try to give up, you’re the best. The main structure of this artwork is to use cool shoes to combine with edited words. In this way, the audience can both read the sentence: Life is hard, don’t try to give up, you’re the best and enjoy the photo of the cool shoes.”

Sweet- the taste of the life Model magic, woodblock, maker [29 x 16 x 15cm]

“Sweet is one of the important tastes; sweet always makes people feel satisfied. However, some people only feel tired and bitter in their daily life. This artwork was built by the model magic lollipop and the sentence: Let’s enjoy the taste of life if we then we know life is sweet. I try to use this artwork to encourage people to find the sweet part of our life then taste it and enjoy it. At last, remember the taste of life and work harder.”

Love-warm

LED lines, model magic [28 x 14 x 3 cm] “Love-warm is the word art artwork which [tells] people that love is warm. The words in this artwork are made by the blue LED line in order to make the words look more obvious in the dark environment.

The background of the words is full of warm tone color which makes the comparison between the background and the words to make my theme: love the warm more obvious.”

If you can dream it, you can achieve it Watercolor painting, word sticker on wood [15 x 15 x 23 cm]

“If you can dream it, you can achieve it is the word art artwork to encourage people to drive on the road of their lives bravely and never stop. The shining word stickers mean people’s lives should be shining. The beautiful background painting means our lives should be colorful. Lastly, all these elements are around our road of lives, which means our wonderful lives.”

Spur

Iron wires, model magic, LED lights [20 x 12 x 18cm] “People sometimes lose their fighting targets in their life after facing some difficulties. In this situation, people need something to make them confident again. My artwork Spur can help to encourage people. Using iron wire to make the word spur and combine with the LED lights to make the artwork more shining. Also, the LED light means people’s lives will be more wonderful after spurring. Lastly, the base made by model magic is covered by the gold foil. This means there will be a gold stage in front of people who are spurring themselves on. They will perform their best moments on the stage”

The future will be a success Watercolor on paper [46 x 27cm]

“The future is always mysterious, some people feel fear about the future, some people look forward to the future. The future will be a success is a word art artwork to stimulate people to have confidence that they will win success in the future. There are two parts in The future will be a success. The first part means the past, the past might be not good and dark, but the cool color in the past part form a strong comparison with the warm color in the future part. The words ‘To the good future’ form a road to the success of the mountain in the farther way.