Internal Landscapes

Abstract

After years of self-reflecting on my emotions, I can now express a fuller range. Internal Landscapes represents different emotions that come with dismantling learned value systems. Black paint, recurring textures, and gold frames are repeating elements throughout my work. The relationship between these three elements is meant to represent dissociation and repression, how the cultural value of strength fuels these coping strategies, and the desire for a more dynamic perspective. The accumulation and dissolution of these materials represent the process of these emotions building up over time, and the consequences that arise. Historically gold frames represent the worth of the object they surround as highly valued. The frame's gold “value” is being used to describe social values. These value systems include work ethic, success, and emotional repression. To avoid becoming problems for others, we often repress self-empathy and sterilize any bad feelings we have, and it takes deliberate effort to break this cycle. This body of work aims to explore and address these values to determine whether they are worth keeping or not.