unOther is a series of paintings and media works calling for interpersonal reflections through the representation of a being in a constant state of intake and expulsion. While the imagery holds autobiographical contexts, the purpose of presenting this series of work is to develop new stories from tales otherwise untold. My own history is filtered through these images and show different states of my own transitions from a sick body, a dying body, and a body in recovery while externalizing the conflicts between those stages and the hope for healing as I look onward.
This installation is designed to share a narrative of an otherworldly character by examining their traits and shared histories. These representations engage with contemporary questions of the way we experience the constant evolution of our identities based on significant experiences and the emotions they evoke, how we counter them, and how we come to accept them. Paintings are suspended into the air or mounted on the wall while digital projections flash directly against the canvas to create movement, reveal imagery, or illuminate colors upon the subject. This interaction between painting and projection thus reveal the individual personalities of each composition by exposing elements otherwise hidden using wafts of color and light. The observable separation between the traditional and digital encourage a reflection upon ourselves in relation to our physical world, our erotically charged selves, and the desires that extend what may be tangibly found or obtained in our wake; the real, the unreal, and the potentialities found between their interactions.
These angels are depictions of my own body in different stages of my battle with EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) and the multiple relapses I endured until 2017 where my heart developed a pericardial effusion. While some refer to older photographs of my emaciated body, others are abstracted to express emotion over physical malady and degradation. If read consecutively, you witness the journey of the once-forty-nine pound body not only gaining weight but also their longing for their previous, skeletal form. However, in the end, there is stillness; for while there is a desire to fall back, we rather look forward and onward. Even if this means taking a moment to stop, breathe, and reassess.
