ARTIST STATEMENT
You enter a space inhabited by a large crowd of people and imagine hearing echoes of conversations past. Snippets that range from laughter to somber tears.
“He actually got his friend to ask me out. Ha-ha! I couldn’t believe it.”
“I am a very selfish guy. I come from a privileged background and that’s what I want to talk about.”
“My sister worked in set design too. She was a part of the show ‘The Crown’. It’s the only one everyone can identify.”
“I was there for her the whole time when she was in the wheelchair, till she recovered but, when I needed her, she walked away.”
“I kept failing my classes and lied to them all the time. Couldn’t deal with the guilt so I tried to commit suicide.”
“I get very aggressive about feminism.”
“I don’t believe in beauty.”
“My mom thinks I’m handsome.”
“She kept calling to blackmail me.”
“He is a man, so he loves flattery.”
These people slowly meld into each other, their gazes following you as you silently walk past them. Tall, dark, pale, thin, fat, old, young, rich, poor, people of all types, yet they all seem to be on equal ground here. As you see parts of yourself in them, you begin to notice commonalities. Commonalities in emotions, reactions, thoughts, and opinions that you experience together.
Looking in all directions, you see sadness, pride, intrigue, and mystery in their eyes. You don’t know who they are, where they’re from or what exactly they are trying to tell you. You envision yourself meeting them, watching them as they share their intimate stories.
You try to match a story to a person, a place to an experience, a reaction to an emotion. You feel like you know them, they are now your allies, your friends. People that enliven your surroundings, until you move on and realize, they live only in these moments. The moments you shared, immortalized on the walls, while you stand alone at the doorstep.