Anna

Curatorial rationale  

Considering my body of work as a whole, I can see a development, yet connections between the pieces. Some motifs like flowers or a multiples of the same element are the main reoccurring elements, one of which can be found in most of my artworks. To best represent the development of my body of art by emphasizing an element in each of my artworks through categorizing them into groups. The first collection of pieces aims to criticize social standards and aspects of capitalism. The second group of artworks is meant to appeal to the viewer’s emotions, whereas the third one aims to create a balance and have a calming effect to ensure the viewer leaves my exhibition space feeling comforted and balanced.  I started the Diploma Program off thinking all my pieces need to contain a message, criticizing main aspects of the society as we know it; power relations, sexism, racism and capitalism to only name a few of them. I created two artworks during this phase, both based on the monetary currencies and humanities dependency on them. The first multitude of images appearing in this body of work is the skull print on various currencies of this world. Using a linoleum print stencil was the best technique as it allowed to rapidly print a multitude of identical images. More about this piece can be read in the artistic intention going with the artwork. My second piece was the cigarette imitation using money bills. Here again, a multiplicity of the motif can be observed as I rolled up 1000 RMB into cigarette shapes resulting in 10, 100 RMB cigarettes. This artwork creates parallels between nicotine and money, claiming to be equally addictive in their nature. After these two pieces I wanted to create a technically challenging piece shifting the focal point on the aesthetics of the piece rather than it’s meaning. I realized that art does not always have to have a deep message or aim to shift paradigms deeply embedded with in our society. So, in my further pieces my messages were less serious but aimed to make the viewer think about themselves and consider their emotions. I want to connect with the piece so that they would still think about it after leaving the exhibition. I wanted to create relatable content that would allow the audience to also learn a bit more about myself. A reoccurring motif are flowers. In the braided flower crown the angel is holding, the flower patch or the painted tile. Nature was a big inspiration and the symbolism of flowers is essential for the meaning of my pieces. I wanted to create aesthetically pleasing pieces, sometimes focusing on the combinations of colors and sometimes focusing more on the technique or actual image shown in the artwork. In the ‘faces tell stories’ series; I want the viewer to focus on the many individual faces and consider differences and similarities rather than focusing on how the colors work together. Yet, I used a single color for each face to assist in mirroring emotions. Even if the facial expressions of a person towards the outside world seem joyous, they might still battle inner conflict or have problems that they won’t let people notice. This is resembled by the color of the face, showing that inner and outer emotions can be unrelated. I hope to effectively communicate that there should be a balance in everybody’s lives. Yes, please scrutinize the system, engage in politics and speak up; On the other hand, people need to realize that they also gain some distance from these possibly draining and stressful topics and relax. Enjoying the small things in life, learning to engage but also keep emotional distance as a form of self-care. I hope to achieve the latter by rounding off my exhibition with peaceful and relaxed vibes, as the audience will be confronted with the serious art at the beginning of the exhibition and then gets to wind down, enjoying the aesthetics of my other pieces.