“Childhood” exhibition Curatorial Rationale
Dipping a long brush into a large can of gouache, I stretched my small arm to add a few strokes at the top. I was around 3 years old when I started making art, so sitting in the centre of an A2 canvas, I could not yet easily reach its edges. This seemingly unimportant memory of my first artistic struggle is among those that I remember to this day: although it did not significantly impact me, I view it as a precious experience. In my exhibition, I aim to capture the essence of childhood through simple yet powerful memories. Every object and person that I depicted evokes a strong sense of nostalgia in me and I hope my artwork inspires others to cherish their own childhood memories.
My work has been heavily influenced by the Disrupted Realism movement, which is described by John A. Seed in his book "Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World". Like the contemporary artists featured in the book, I create images of real objects and people in distorted ways to convey various messages." For example, “Vague Memory" was inspired particularly by Zoey Frank, who explores the themes of time and space in her work. The “Vague Memory” can be considered the main piece because it is the largest and it depicts an interaction with my family which I believe to be the people who made a profound impact on my childhood, shaping me into the person I am today. I made the imagery airy and blurry using watercolour to convey the distance of the memory and the warm feelings I associate with the room depicted. Oppositely, in "The 2000s", objects from my childhood are depicted in overly saturated colours to show how important and desirable they were to me when I was little. Through the use of graphic strokes and mixed media, particularly in the work titled "Nostalgia", I have aimed to showcase the effect of the disturbance of reality in our memory.
I believe that the works I have selected effectively showcase the range of emotions a child may experience but not fully comprehend until later in life. My personal reflection led me to choose these specific pieces, which utilize all of the artistic skills and conceptual thinking I have acquired throughout my life. Through these works, I attempt to depict the feelings associated with certain objects and people that I was not yet able to express in my art when I was younger.
The chosen works are arranged in a space with two boards and one pedestal, all of which I covered with black fabric to make the vivid colours and the graphic strokes of my work stand out. On the left side, there is a single board and a pedestal displaying works that may evoke negative feelings. To make the exhibition space feel even more homey, I put an old-fashioned rug on the floor.
On the right on a board and an easel are vibrant works which transcend the viewer to childhood when life felt light and fun. I want each work to tell a distinct story to the viewer, hence they all have differently coloured frames. Frames are made out of bright cardboard of different margins to look like sloppy collage art that children do in kindergarten.
By placing negative and positive works on opposite sides, we can see the interconnection between them and understand the profound impact of childhood memories on our lives. Hence, my exhibition aims to remind the audience that every experience, whether positive or negative, shapes who we are and can lead to personal growth and development.
