artist statement
An outsider is often called an alien. When you’re an alien, you feel like you constantly have to prove your legitimacy and worth. Illustration is sometimes considered the kitchy alien of the art world but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong. This is my shrine to being an alien. It’s styled after the shrines with piles of offerings, or the shrines that a fan makes for their favorite celebrity.
It’s a clutter of items and pictures, which creates a scene of frenzied obsession; not unlike a conspiracy board. At my shrine’s center is a painting inspired by depictions of the Virgin Mary, my “Abductee Maria”. I feel like religion often creates one of the biggest environments of insiders and outsiders, while having some of the most beautiful art. As part of my shrine I have illustrated a fabric print for a garment in the lolita style. Lolita is a fashion style from Japan, inspired by historical European costume that emphasizes cuteness and elegance; it’s often wrongly assumed by outsiders to be related to the novel about pedophilia by the same name.
The third element of my shrine is a comic about a literal alien, because comics are an essential part of my identity as an artist. Being somewhere between art and literature, comics are often considered the most kitsch of all art, and often excluded from fine art as a whole. Which makes this an autobiography of my alien self.
It’s a clutter of items and pictures, which creates a scene of frenzied obsession; not unlike a conspiracy board. At my shrine’s center is a painting inspired by depictions of the Virgin Mary, my “Abductee Maria”. I feel like religion often creates one of the biggest environments of insiders and outsiders, while having some of the most beautiful art. As part of my shrine I have illustrated a fabric print for a garment in the lolita style. Lolita is a fashion style from Japan, inspired by historical European costume that emphasizes cuteness and elegance; it’s often wrongly assumed by outsiders to be related to the novel about pedophilia by the same name.
The third element of my shrine is a comic about a literal alien, because comics are an essential part of my identity as an artist. Being somewhere between art and literature, comics are often considered the most kitsch of all art, and often excluded from fine art as a whole. Which makes this an autobiography of my alien self.
