SOLITUDE
2020
At first I was inspired to take on this project as a window into the varied relationships people experience in solitude. Under government mandated ‘self’ quarantine, many are confronted with navigating unprecedented isolation. Technology has already steered us away from face to face contact, but the emergence of COVID-19 jumpstarted a reality void of personal connection. No longer able to physically explore the material world, we are instead confined to the reverie of our inner worlds.
This series was meant to explore the questions that remain when you are alone with no one left to ask questions of you. However, it quickly became apparent that quarantine, no matter how terrifying to some, is a privileged experience. The guidelines laid out for us to embrace isolation for the greater good are really a sacrifice of those deemed less important.
There are still many among us--neighbors, friends, relatives--that are faced with the reality of continuing to work in the face of grave health concerns in order to support themselves and their families. It is impossible to ignore the hypocrisy that is spread in the oft-repeated message of “we are all in this together” when many are abandoned. Celebrities singing together on zoom and politicians pointing fingers only aggravate the wounds caused in this crisis. More than ever, the wealth disparity in this country and across the planet is emphasized.
Through this series I aimed to take a closer look at how different quarantine feels when spread across social class. Introspection sits atop the hierarchy of human needs and although it is accessible to all, it is rarely explored to its full potential and sadly filtered through the limitations of class.
In depicting three different realities that humans encounter in solitude, it is important to recognize each individual’s self-esteem can be usurped and distorted by a society that does not meet its most basic need, bodily safety.
It is unfair to assume those less privileged among us will carry the burden. A financial burden, and also a burden on the mind. If the pursuit of happiness is a human right, then so should be the moments of reflection that enable the thinker to define that happiness.
Solitude is the intellectual soil where dreams are planted, but solitude is not free.
- R.T.E. 20’
This series was meant to explore the questions that remain when you are alone with no one left to ask questions of you. However, it quickly became apparent that quarantine, no matter how terrifying to some, is a privileged experience. The guidelines laid out for us to embrace isolation for the greater good are really a sacrifice of those deemed less important.
There are still many among us--neighbors, friends, relatives--that are faced with the reality of continuing to work in the face of grave health concerns in order to support themselves and their families. It is impossible to ignore the hypocrisy that is spread in the oft-repeated message of “we are all in this together” when many are abandoned. Celebrities singing together on zoom and politicians pointing fingers only aggravate the wounds caused in this crisis. More than ever, the wealth disparity in this country and across the planet is emphasized.
Through this series I aimed to take a closer look at how different quarantine feels when spread across social class. Introspection sits atop the hierarchy of human needs and although it is accessible to all, it is rarely explored to its full potential and sadly filtered through the limitations of class.
In depicting three different realities that humans encounter in solitude, it is important to recognize each individual’s self-esteem can be usurped and distorted by a society that does not meet its most basic need, bodily safety.
It is unfair to assume those less privileged among us will carry the burden. A financial burden, and also a burden on the mind. If the pursuit of happiness is a human right, then so should be the moments of reflection that enable the thinker to define that happiness.
Solitude is the intellectual soil where dreams are planted, but solitude is not free.
- R.T.E. 20’
‘No Time to Dream’
24” x 36”
Mixed Media
Edition of 12
‘Inside’
24” x 36”
Mixed Media
Edition of 12
‘Not What I Orderded’
24” x 36”
Mixed Media
Edition of 12