Curatorial Rational
Through my exhibition, I present different moments and ideas humans endure, using architecture and nature as symbolism. I am intrigued by the connection humans have with the rest of the world. This artistic exploration enabled me to appreciate nature and architecture on a deeper level.
My artwork is arranged to exhibit human development from left to right: exploring, growth, and enlightenment. In the first column on the left side, I incorporated architectural components to discuss the way that humans can literally and figuratively travel through while exploring. Moving to the right of the exhibition, in the second column, a direct relationship between nature and architecture is portrayed in terms of growing and metaphorically relating to the connection between a single person and others. Looking at the column at the far right, the idea of enlightenment is explored in terms of youth and reflecting back on life.
The artworks ‘Staircase to and from Adventure’ and ‘The Cubist Perspective’ at the left side of my gallery exhibit architectural components emphasized through repetition metaphorically displaying the adventure of human life. The repetition of horizontal lines in ‘Staircase to and from Adventure’ emphasizes the staircase though viewers can find hidden sneakers and an outline of the lower half of a person. The idea of walking through the staircase can be imagined. ‘The Cubist Perspective’ is more of a metaphorical stance on the human journey. At the base of the sculpture, the several edited versions of the same door can symbolize many opportunities that can be decided on. Within the cube of the sculpture, I included edited photographs of myself vertically in the center to highlight the idea that each human has control over their own life as they are essentially the most important person in their life. The flowers symbolize the many beauties in life that we can consider as motivation to endure forward in life.
In the center of the gallery, ‘Fence and the Flowers’ as well as ‘Past and Future’, focus on the idea of growth. In ‘Fence and the Flowers’, a fence is used as a metaphor for the obstacles one needs to overcome. The struggle of growing is shown through the different heights of the fence which creates entrapment in addition to the pot and box. The sunset represents the possibility of a better life that the flowers can have. The bridges in ‘Past and Future’ is a metaphor to a growing connection between stages of one’s life or a parent and child relationship. The cub and lion are positioned facing each other with connecting rings in the background and drawn bridges on their bodies to represent their interconnecting relationship as they reflect on their own life or their relationship with another. The contrast of the grey void from the colors in the work represent that the two figures will never be the same but will always reach out to the other in hopes to better understand their counterpart.
At far right of the exhibition, the compositions ‘Little Girl’s Room’ and ‘Path to Knowledge’ present the idea of enlightenment and a reflection on life. In ‘Little Girl’s Room’, the lamp with the ballerinas represents an aspiring dancer while the horn can represent another interest. The teddy bear represents a comfort item that kids are known to have. The artwork ‘Path to Knowledge’ symbolizes making choices through the railway track with two paths. In addition, the mirror represents self reflection as these choices should be created in a way that people stay true to themselves. At the same time, the eeriness of the work is meant to symbolize the learning experience of the journey, of trial and error, which we should try to find beauty in.
In the third row going down the gallery, the artworks ‘Never Ending Staircase’ and ‘Staircase of Puzzles’ exhibit different ideas about the journey of life. In ‘Never Ending Staircase’ the illusion of a continuous staircase of different colors symbolizes a long lasting journey with many stages. ‘Staircase of Puzzles’ symbolizes the surprises of life and the feeling of uncertainty through the scattered pieces of different colors.
Color is a significant feature in all of my work of the exhibition. Growth is represented by warm colors for instance in ‘Fence and the Flowers’ and ‘Past and Future’. In the artworks ‘Little Girl’s Room’ and ‘Path to Knowledge’, the cool colors such as the reoccurring purple represents enlightenment, as inspired by new ideas of astronomy during the Enlightenment Period.