Artist: Natasha B.
Curatorial Statement
In my exhibition, Childhood Dream, represents the park I used to go to as a child where I imagined a world outside the expectations of society. Though as I grew older, I felt more intimidated by the standards created. I wanted to showcase the journey of a teenager who is going through the challenges of growing up. The viewer walking through my exhibition will experience the feeling of growing up again. But unexpectedly, they are made aware of the unrealistic standards since as a child, they were shielded from these standards by the imaginary worlds they created. As soon as you became a teenager, these standards were unraveled at your feet, waiting to judge you. I always wanted to explore this theme since like many teenegares nowadays, I have felt the impact of society’s standards.
I want the viewer to be able to step into the world of a child, then suddenly, out of nowhere, enter the world of a teenager who is enduring the pressures of society. Through this body of work, I hope to express a sense of realization that society’s standards are unrealistic (specifically beauty standards). This body of work makes my audience feel how unrealistic society’s standards are and how they impact others. The vision for presenting this body of work is to show the impacts of society's standards on the growing, impressionable individual. I also showcase the progression of one’s individuality and growth as they choose to stray away from standards. The overall theme through my artworks is individuality and the impacts of society’s negative judgements. It explores someone who in the past, would put society’s expectations before loving themself and now it shows how they have grown to be who they are, with no input from society.
The way my exhibition is arranged shows the progression of someone listening to society’s negativity to choosing to be themself and happier. My first piece is Childhood Dream because it first shows a child’s perspective of the world and because I wanted to show how when you grow up, society morphs your view of the world. When viewing this part of the exhibition, you are transformed into a wonky world of a child’s imagination. You are carefree about the world outside. Then in your journey, you move out of that world into reality. This is where you start not listening to standards, but then you start to grow up thinking only about that. Then Don’t Let Society Be the Judge shows the first impacts of standards. You still have yourself within you on one side but on the other, society’s views are slowly taking over.
Next is DUSK TO DAWN and Lights, Camera, Action, show the impacts when society’s standards fully consume you. I showcase how it feels when society puts you on display in front of the world and judges you. Then I show the Inner Me, when someone realizes they have a voice but are still too scared to stand out. After is New Beginnings to show the person finally moving away from trying to level up to those expectations and trying to escape. Lastly, Shark Out of Water comes in. Finally, the person has found their voice and is not scared to come out of the crowd and overcome the lies told about them.
The visual strategy I used to show a relationship in the artworks to the viewer, is all my paintings are landscape format. This allows the viewer to move along my exhibition as though they are watching a teenager’s life on a movie screen. As well, the paintings that show the negative impacts of society all have dark backgrounds. Yet all the paintings that capture someone finding who he/ she is individually, are vibrant. My overall intention is to express how as you get older, you are forced to be aware of these standards that force you to feel as though you have to comply with them. But near the end, you find who you are, and finally learn to love yourself.
ARTWORK 1
Childhood Dream
November 2019
Lens Based
65 x 1 x 80 cm
Childhood Dream is a place children create through their imaginations. Though others look at parks as just parks, it's more than that to kids, it’s a place to escape the pressures of the world. Where they can imagine a new world in which they don’t feel judged by standards, and are away from the views of society. Sections are zoomed in to represent a child building their world. Inspired by David Hockeny, photos overlap to show the levels of imagination children have when creating their world.
ARTWORK 2
Don’t Let Society Be The Judge
February 2021
Acrylic on Wooden Panel
27.94 x 2 x 35.56 cm
The left side expresses the impact of society's judgements contrasting with the right which showcases how someone feels when they choose to be themself. The juxtaposition of the two feelings show that this teen is still themself at heart but society is overtaking their mind to try and change them. Inspired by Yayoi Kusama, butterflies on the left represent the need for change. The butterfly on the right signifies the change that occurs when the teen chooses themself over society's standards.
ARTWORK 3
DUSK TO DAWN
November 2020
Acrylic on Wooden Panel
27.94 x 4 x 35.56 cm
DUSK TO DAWN symbolizes you should always be yourself 24/7. Inspired by Jean-Michel Basquit, a skull is portrayed symbolizing a person as though they’re on display in front of the world like an artist’s album cover. People often judge the cover before listening to songs on it, just how they judge people’s looks before getting to know them. Inspired by Yayoi Kusama, the CD sticking out is colorful to represent a glimpse into the beauty within that people miss out on by judging too quickly.
ARTWORK 4
Lights, Camera, Action
March 2021
Acrylic on Wooden Panel
27.94 x 2 x 35.56 cm
It’s a free ticket into your world, representing how society makes you feel you need to act. It shows a peek into the lies of Hollywood and the unrealistic standards. Inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat, it shows the inner thoughts of the skull on the right from the featured film strip. This shows how the standards are fake, from the power of lights, cameras, and acting but also the detrimental impact it has on people.
ARTWORK 5
New Beginnings
April 10th, 2020
Acrylic on Raw Canvas
120 x 3 x 150 cm
The car with flames signifies the past of the blue car. The past is haunting her while she tries to escape. Inspired by Peter Gronquist, the use of gradational value represents the emotional state of the driver. Red represents anger, yellow is the cowardice the driver faces from moving on. The orange represents her energetic persona in anticipation for new beginnings. The viewer cannot see the start of the road which shows how the life of trying to conform to standards is over.
ARTWORK 6
Shark Out of Water
December 5th, 2019
Clay and Acrylic Paint
15 x 15 x 15 cm
Inspired by Lorein Stern, depicts biased viewpoints created about sharks. Using the score and slip method, I included details that make sharks appear scary, like the teeth. Individuality is represented since the shark isn’t in a “shiver”. Showing you don’t know a person when they’re in a group, rather you know them best when they're alone. A misinterpretation is sharks are violent. The colourful water shows the shark escaping the bad reputation that was falsely created overtime.
ARTWORK 7
Inner Me
December 5th, 209
Wire
46 x 1 x 61 cm
Inspired by Elizabeth Berrien, I created an animal out of wire. Flamingos emerge in your life when the emotions inside of you need to be released. People conceal their emotions afraid of being judged. It is covered in silver tape representing how people hide their emotions from the world and don’t let people see through them. The flatness of the shape represents how what's on the inside truly matters, not appearance. The platform shows that you shouldn’t be scared to show the world who you are.