this "exhibition" (i put it in quotes because it feels pretentious to call it that still) came about due to an ongoing pre-quarter life crisis. i've felt out of place creatively for the longest time, & wanted to make a big move to prove to others that i have something worthy of admiration in me.
however, as i've worked on the curation of my own art & creating new works in the process, it's become a lot more about proving the importance of my craft to myself. to convince myself that this isn't a big waste of time.
when i've had nothing, i've had my art. when i've been at my highest (& lowest), i've had my art. at 8 years old, and at 20, i've had my art. when i didn't know how to feel or who i was, i've had my art.
this is a collection of art spanning a handful of years (2013-2023) & many transitory periods of my life. the pieces explore love, anxiety, fear, melancholy, mania, & joy. and some i just think look really damn cool. what i love about works like this is that they act simultaneously as raw expression of emotion & coping mechanism. when i'm too scared to state how i'm feeling out loud, i paint/sculpt/draw/collage/shoot it.
i don't think i'll ever be comfortable calling myself an "artist" unironically without feeling weird about it, but doing something like this finally allowed me to warm up to the idea of it.