Whimsy and the Out of the Ordinary: Curatorial Rationale
The commonality between my artworks is that they feature subjects and situations that would not exist in the real world. There is an otherworldly aspect to each of the artworks, and most of them also have motifs of playfulness and fantasy: Whimsy. On top of this common theme, there is also a thread that flows between each of the pieces as they are viewed in a
specific order. Of course, I could not hold a proper exhibition in the planned venue due to COVID-19, but the size of pieces and order of viewing is as according to how it would look if I did get to properly hold the exhibition.
The first piece in the exhibition is Peace in Paris . In this piece, the out of the ordinary aspect is the fact that the sky is in flames. While all the other pieces in the exhibition have varying levels of whimsy, Peace in Paris is the opposite. It is out of the ordinary in a serious somber way and serves as a disclaimer and foil to the rest of the exhibit. Peace in Paris is a piece of social commentary warning of a potential future where countries do not take precautions to avoid climate change such as the Paris Peace Accords. It reminds the audience that while it is fun to live in whimsy, it is essential to remember reality.
The second artwork is Dreams in Black & White . The story of this piece connects to Peace in Paris because it shows a potential future, but instead of a warning it is the whimsical dream of the girl in the drawing. She dreams of her future self in an unordinary costume befitting of a star. The colors of the painting also illustrate how it is an unreal dream. The girl herself is in
black and white, like a memory or a movie, while the background has a variety of iridescent colors. This artwork is digital, and I would have liked to print it rather large. After this artwork, is Surrealist Chuck . It connects to the last piece because it is also a portrait of a person that shows their feelings. The figure in Surrealist Chuck illustrates the complexity of self-expression
through a surrealist style and variety of images that represent the person, including a variety of men and women.
The next artwork is STICKY NOTE . Like the last artwork, it is a drawing that incorporates surrealism and a similar background. It is more playful, incorporating surrealism through a blind contour sketch. It has a neat, stationary aesthetic. Following STICKY NOTE is another piece created by studying objects, A gift for the town . This piece creates a whimsical feel in an entirely different way. The objects are drawn exactly as they appear in life, unlike STICKY NOTE but the background and composition of the objects create a fantasy story of a winter fairy town.
A gift for the town has a fun story that has a youthful sense to it, so the next piece, Rabbit Riding , is the same. This print shows a cartoony snapshot of a rabbit riding a carrot like a surfboard. The cartoony style is important, and the rabbit’s proportions are similar to that of a stuffed toy. After this piece comes Make the Most of the Night . In this piece, the character is still
enjoying themself and has animal characteristics, but are highly different other than that. The story of Make the Most of the Night features a whimsical young man who has been cursed with animal features, but makes sure to not let it get in the way of his fun.
The final two pieces of the exhibition feature the same character, A Real Bear (Part 1 and 2) . In these pieces, a whimsical story of transformation, similar to Make the Most of the Night is told about a person’s old childhood stuffed animal. In A Real Bear Part 1 , the stuffed teddy bear magically turns into an anthropomorphic creature that loves sweets. In A Real Bear Part 2 , the
bear has to get adjusted and independent into the world that he has been thrust into.
