Our forty-fifth post of the series, Artists in the Time of Coronavirus includes Jasmine Shaw, Holly Archer, Susan Melly, Erica Harney, Ahuva Zeloof, J DeFrese, and Yukti vishal Agarwal! Thank you for all who submitted! And if you want to participate, send your statement (250 words max) and 2 photos to support@theartblog.org. More details here. Stay safe and stay positive, and come back in the days to come for more “Artists in the Time of Coronavirus.” We have a wonderful community and are so proud of being able to share everyone’s art.
[Note: We have gotten over 300 submissions, so if you haven’t seen yours yet, don’t worry- it is coming, and we can’t wait to post it!]
Jasmine Shaw
My work examines my Chinese American identity through the lens of adoption. I explore my identity through photographing environments, family members, other Asian Americans, and Asian adoptees. I recently traveled to China this past winter before the virus began to spread and was fortunate to leave China before the lockdown began.
However, witnessing xenophobia and other Asians in America receiving hate crimes because of their ethnicity is disheartening. The pandemic and the stereotypes created around this virus has affected the way I create my work as well as complete this body of work. I now examine the meaning behind my work and how reflecting on my Chinese American Identity may affect others within and outside my community.
The images included are from a body of work titled, Little Road New Jersey. The work focuses on navigating my Chinese American identity as an adoptee. Although I was not able to visit the specific orphanage that I was adopted from, my search for a sense of belonging in China revealed many mixed emotions. The broken pieces and misaligned images create a new personal history, while the scratches and light leaks are symbolic of how I process adoption. Visual harmony and connection are also found between different environments that may not relate at first glance. These images highlight the struggles I face in relating to my Chinese-American identity.
Website: www.jasmineshaw.com
Instagram: @jasmineroseshaw
Email: jasmineshaw02@gmail.com
Holly Archer
Holly Archer takes full advantage of the Canadian paradise she lives in, exploring the shores of Georgian Bay, Algonquin Park, Killarney and the surrounding wilderness. Inspiration is limitless.
Holly works primarily with acrylics, seeking new mediums and techniques to explore. Her approach to painting is in itself an adventure. Holly is drawn to bold colours, utilizing intense, contrasting hues to emphasize the intention of the work. These dramatic pieces express her personal impression of being immersed in the wilderness and the freedom that comes from being outdoors.
Susan Melly
Erica Harney
My studio practice is primarily informed by my professional experiences as a scenic artist, where I design and paint scenery for theatre, museums and television. The unifying theme in these pursuits is the desire to use art in general- and painting in particular- to transform and enhance both the tangible and intangible environment.
When painting scenery or a mural, the literal goal is to transform a space and create an experience for the audience: paint is a crucial part in creating the magic and the illusion. My work as a muralist and commission artist is in transforming existing spaces. Play, exploration and experimentation are integral to my practice, and I frequently work with repurposed or imperfect materials, found objects and scraps. These materials not only limit waste but they also inspire creative challenges. The work I make is varied and eclectic, and strategically combines styles, aesthetics, patterns and images. Deliberately constructed, edited, and presented, the work is theatrical in nature and relies heavily on the play between foreground and background. Playfulness and whimsy propel my work, allowing each individual piece to take on its own aesthetic and identity- each one completely different from the one before.
IG: @erica_harney_artist
FB: Erica Harney, Artist
Web: ericaharney.com
Etsy: EricaHarneyArtist
Ahuva Zeloof
This piece, FRACTURED, was created during the Coronavirus lock-down, a time when I should have been making preparations for my sculpture exhibition at Diba Gallery, London.
I am sculptor with a passion for stone-carving. I usually choose my rocks with the ability to feel and see them close at hand, as the details – like veins, colour variations, and shapes – are important factors in the decision of what they will eventually become. Due to social distancing, I was forced to step outside of my usual routine and order my rocks over the phone, effectively blindly. I am 74 and isolating alone so the physicality of huge rocks also played into the production of this piece – I was able to move them only using my grandchildren’s skateboard!
I was determined to use the time in self-isolation creatively, to bring something bright and positive into the world for the future that is to come. The challenge was to work with what I am given, and to make do with the unknown.
The resulting piece, FRACTURED, speaks to the painful separation of family and friends. Yet despite the obvious fracture the figure radiates a sense of serene optimism, raising their face to the bright sunlight which shines upon it.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahuva.zeloof/?hl=en
Website: https://www.ahuvazeloof.com/
J DeFrese
Just staying isolated as much as possible and trying to stay sane – but sometimes images erupt as a form of catharsis…I am not actually making any figurative work lately but these images just started making themselves… maybe I feel better?
Yukti vishal Agarwal
I wanted to go for a walk around my neighbourhood despite this lockdown, and so I did! An avant-garde method of drawing through observation in these times of social isolation, quarantine and nation-wide lockdown: drawing using google maps and data of movement of the people of my society as logged in a chart by the building official. It’s a visual document of data mapping movement of people in and out of my building, in and around the neighbourhood.
Website: https://yuktiaagarwal.myportfolio.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yukti_scribbles/?hl=en
