Different perspectives; the teenage experience

My exhibition explores the multiple perspectives of ourselves and the world, demonstrating how they influence each other and cause us to think and communicate differently within environments. Through my exhibition I choose to highlight my theme through the interpretations of teenagers and the challenges/ internal battles that we face within ourselves and put out into the world. Additionally, I showcase some of the global issues which can impact the way we shape ourselves for presentation to society. Eyes are used as a key element of many of the artworks showcased to link the theme of perception together as eyes signify a gateway into the soul that defines us. Accompanying this I included characteristics of the world such as nature and personas to convey my theme. I was inspired to create this connection through my overall life experiences and how I feel as a teenager along with enlightening how the experiences of others that differentiate from my own can also be unifying. Especially since as individuals we grow older and learn what made or makes us who we are and what prevented us or pressured us to take on a character or attitude that we felt would get us further in life if we just complied to the social construct.

The materials used in this exhibition such as inks and pastels were used to portray the multiple emotions within my artworks in a bold mannerism. Ink pens are all about making a loud and clear statement as their versatile use allows it to be used alongside multiple art mediums. This suited the theme of my exhibition well as the whole purpose is to communicate a message or a signal saying. “Hey! Look at me! This is how I feel! This is what you have made me become!”. This can also be said for the use of pastels and slight use of acrylics that are also evident amongst my words as the vast majority have a monochromatic color theme which is exploited through their use. Additionally, my choice of materials corresponds to the message of my works such as Uninhabitable, which uses ball point ink pens and acrylic paint to emphasize the importance of speech, specifically hate speech, and how the words that people communicate to us we can communicate back to ourselves causing us to feel a sense of being unable to adapt to our surroundings or our environment.

Two artists that have influenced my choice in mediums and ways of expressing my theme are Aida Muluneh and Yayoi Kusama. Both of these artists use very unique patterns in their artwork, such as Kusama’s use of dots, and very vibrant colors. I incorporated their use of vibrant colors in my colorful color scale portion of my artworks and Mulunehs’ monochromatic color scale and patterns in the beginning of my works. By incorporating their techniques into my own work I felt that I was able to accomplish adding a greater value to my artworks by playing off of their techniques to create a more evident yet thought provoking message.

The arrangement of the works is placed in the gradual involvement of color in the works circulating around the focal point of my exhibition, the mobile of eyes. This gradual development of monochromatic to colorful color scale is to express the progression of identity and perspective issues. The monochrome scale artworks signify early development or the beginning of teenage life. During this stage the intention is to have the viewer perceive themself within the characters of my artworks and relate back to their process of self development. As the color scale increases, the perspectives of others start to become a factor in the identification process. This process continues until the perceptions of the world and the world on yourself become overwhelming, which is where full color is presented amongst the artworks.

Alisa Tillman

SASKA TOWLER