Problem solving is what sets my drawings and paintings in motion. I construct illusions using everyday objects, colorful paper backdrops, easily adjustable lighting, fishing line and every variety of tape. The task of creating my own ‘set’ allows me to be in full control of my work, just as I meticulously prepare my painting surfaces and handpick my materials. This process is inextricable from the act of painting itself.

 

We live in a society in which we never feel like we have accomplished enough; that our achievements are never good enough. This body of work is inspired by that emotional cycle of self-loathing, punishment and eventual acceptance- especially as experienced by women. I took the hand gestures from historical depictions of women, specifically Fra Angelico’s Annunciation. I posed my own hands amongst environments made from broken crystal, to silk robes, to lush foliage, as the hands of God, the Virgin Mary and Eve. I only hope to have created modern iconography that reminds viewers to forgive themselves.

CV 2020 – Sydney Bowers