Pretty Little Humans In Pretty Little Boxes

set of three drawings in a series 7 3/8” x 5 1/8”

North Adams MA. 2020.

As an artist I am interested in exploring the limitations and creativity inherent in containers, whether it is a piece of paper, camera lens, canvas, etc. I am inspired by water, and the ability of water to be flexible and adaptable. Water is matter that exists as a fluid flowing liquid. Our bodies contain within themselves approximately 80% of water. When the pandemic began I found myself taking close to ten baths a day and contemplating this relationship between bodies and water. I found myself longing to be as flexible and adaptable as water. This longing turned into an exercise where while in the bath I would continuous try to move my body (as if I was the water) into various shapes attempting to fit within the container of the bathtub. This turned out some pretty interesting shapes and inspired the figures for this series.

For each of the three drawings the picture plane is inherently a box. It has edges, boundaries, and limitations brought upon by the width and length. Within the box of the picture plane I have created several other boxes/containers and attempted to fit as many as I could within the limitations of the paper I was using. After I created these bold black boundaries I then drew human forms attempting to fit in. Some of the figures fit comfortably in their boxes and others struggle and look a bit anguished. This is a metaphor.

Pretty Little Humans In Pretty Little Boxes is a drawing series and reflection on the current climate of the United States that simultaneously explores the intersection between the fluidity of water and the adaptability of the human body/being. It has many layers references and metaphors. I am interested in creating a work with many layers that allow the viewer to gain insight about themselves based on how they view this work. For me, all at once, the figures are stuck in biological cells, the proverbial “box” (the one some humans/artists exist outside of), jail cells, quarantined houses/rooms, the mothers womb, Zoom boxes, political perspectives, religious ideologies, sexual/gender orientation, and bathtubs!