InsiderOutsider

InsideOutSider

Facebook AIR 2021

InsiderOutsider is a site-specific mixed-media mural that features figurative silhouettes set against a colorful, and pattern-rich backdrop. Each figure in this piece symbolizes a person looking out into an unfamiliar space. The area around some of the figure's eyes is replaced with a rectangular cutout, a reminder that embracing what’s new often requires a blind leap. The background consists of wallpaper, matt vinyl cutouts, and printed sheets of sewn paper that have been formed into tile-like squares. The “tiles” will adhere to the wallpaper and other parts of the exposed wall creating a texture-rich surface using semi-transparent material. This piece will also feature large paper cutouts and figurative silhouettes cut out of ¼ inch wooden boards. The figures will be covered in a collage of printed paper creating a rich surface with a uniform color palette.  Each silhouette will be attached to a substrate that allows it to protrude about ½ inch off the wall providing the illusion of three-dimensional depth.  The matt vinyl cutouts will add color and texture giving the feel of a layered collage. 

My work focuses on cultural inheritance that is passed down through different communities by way of historical and familial cues. InsideOutsider exists within this conceptual framework but focuses more narrowly on how we interact with novel environments and new information particularly when our understanding of what is true and normal is challenged. The large figurative forms are slightly imposing and appear to look outward into the viewer’s reality. The viewer in turn is invited to gaze back at the mural and interpret the posture and body language of the silhouettes.