Middle of No Where

My exhibition consist of a series of four artist books together, and individually, titled Where Have You Been all of which are differentiated only by their images. This series depicts the progression of changing seasons through the lens of living beings: both myself and my nonhuman, but still very living, counterparts.

Where Have You Been is an exploration of my relationship with place. The site-specific place I reference is the one in which I was raised and continue to reside in. The books are formed around themes of multi-memory, visual language, and storytelling. Through continued exploration, I am becoming more aware of the ways memories impact an individual's understanding of, and engagement with, their surroundings. This connection led me to create a representation of my internal monologue in the form of a love letter to place, as it bears the memories of both my heritage (both known and unknown) and current setting. The letter, formatted into a poem, is printed in linear motion, mirroring the horizon both in the silk print above and the horizontal shape of the book's largest spread. On vellum, the poem sits softly atop the altered, delicate landscape, allowing the text to weave itself into the place in which they’re being spoken to. 

Where Have You Been is a culmination of research in topics interconnected through commonalities in their ability to impact my understanding of being and existing within a neo-capitalistic society. Through an intricate, self-driven curiosity to inquire, I place graphic design in a transformative state in my practice: turning graphic design from commercialized, capitalistic-based materials, to art using the medium and craft of artist book making. 

As a continued exploration, you'll see connections between these books and a late 2021 project, A Collection of Place Artist Book.