It was difficult to decide what to focus my work on for this show. I try to develop a small portfolio/series for every YAC show I have the opportunity to participate in, and ultimately I decided that pain (of all kinds) is the main component of my artwork for this show. It’s incredibly easy for me to hang up a very personal art piece on the wall, let dozens of people perceive it, and then lose connection with it entirely—wanting never to see it again. This is somewhat detrimental for me, since the function of my art is mostly for me to express myself. It’s important for me to continue putting my personal experiences and thoughts into my art, but also difficult to continue doing, since putting this kind of art out into the world often leeches any meaning out of it for me. Thus, this work will be an experiment to see whether I can battle that phenomenon into the future, to better appreciate my own creations once they’ve been completed.

I just graduated from MPC with an associate’s degree, and while I have so much free time now that I don’t even know what to do with myself, I’m excited to start a new phase dedicated entirely to art.