Artist Statement
Ethereal aesthetics call for a sense of delicacy and also be able to speak volumes about a message. The effect of these ghost-like images, how they imprint a presence and the atmosphere they cast onto people has always fascinated me. Most of my work has been described as ghost-like or ethereal in one way or another but at the same time people are still intrigued by the work presented to them. This in turn has made me decide that I should continue to develop my skills in both traditional and digital media to create a signature style for myself. What I hope to do then with this signature is to create different narratives that can cover to a whole range of topics from world events to more personal stories. Creating art like this has always been like telling a ghost story in a haunted place; the combination of the narrative and the atmosphere the place gives leaves the viewer with a distinct feeling that hey will always associate with that place.
The Changeling Boxes depict a lose narrative that I have based on a combination of Changeling folklore from different sources with my experience growing up diagnosed with asperger syndrome or what is refereed to as high-functioning autism. The reason I chose this route was because I have never really dressed this part of my identity and never felt the need to. But now as I am getting older I am growing more curious about it and am trying to look at how this diagnostics of autism has affected me. This project then presented the opportunity then to explore that part of my identity by looking at my experiences through the lens of a folk tale. I have found, whenever I do any light research on Autism that the link between that to these old folktales is oddly comforting to me. It's because the narrative lets me look at my experience from a distant yet intimate viewpoint without the general anxiety I normally experience.
The boxes below then are a depiction of my relationships between my family and how there support has helped me grow into the person I am now and to accept my condition as something simply part of me.
In the first box the scene is depicted in a cave. I represent myself as the clear figure on the right as a changeling and the smaller figure on the left is suppose to represent my sister. When growing up me and my sister got along as most siblings do but I sense there was a tension. I know my sister loves me and I look up to her in many respects but I can imagine when growing up there were things I did or behaved in a way that was unusual. At those times she would not understand why I did those things but growing up with her she learned to accept that it was just part of me and accepted that. With the cave it's supposed to represent this space or environment of my mind then, a confusing cave of layers and twist and turns that was hard to navigate. And so the small child figure in the story is suppose to represent my sister, trying to navigate this space and interact with me, even though the navigation of the space made no sense to her.
The middle box is suppose to represent the relationship I had with my parents. The Changeling is in the middle of a forest with the humans that raised her. in the background there are several figures that are talking to each other in worried tones. The other two figures, the mother and the farther are ignoring them and their focus is on the changeling. This scene is about when I was first diagnosed with autism. I was diagnosed when I was three and the doctor had different suggestions about what my parents should expect or do. My parents, with my mom leading the way, decided to do more research and decided that despite this diagnostic of autism that there was nothing wrong with me like the doctors suggested. The autism would be a part of me but it wouldn't stop me from leading a independent life that I would want.
The final box then is suppose to show the relationship I have with my step-dad. The scene is suppose to be a field of flowers with the two figures dancing with each other. My step-dad has been married to my mom for 7 years and that same narrative is applied to the Changeling. This scene is suppose to show how my step-dad helped me communicate better and learn that in order to understand others that there are subtle signs or extravagant signs that people do to express themselves. Like in the Changeling's story, my step-farther became involved in me and my sister's lives and despite being autistic, treated me as a capable individual.
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