Graffiti transforms through inquisition and critique, relentlessly challenging perceptions of the art as simple vandalism. The images in this project come from major and minor cities across the United States, and span a ten-year time period. The work represented testifies to the enduring nature of the art on canvasses derived from dilapidated and neglected structures. Whether it is a tag in an abandoned hospital or a ‘piece under a go-kart track, graffiti represents the commitment of graffiti writers and painters to their work.
Portraits are at their finest when they reveal our shared humanity. The portraits shown here depict people of different ages, experiences, classes and cultures. Portraits of genuine expressions, captured during impromptu moments reveal the common threads of our different lives. By seeing a laugh that resembles our own laugh or a moment we recognize as quiet reflection, we can understand better our connectedness through the universal experiences of being human.
Legacies can be interpreted from objects cherished and those left behind. When representing a lifetime of work at a retirement celebration, colleagues choose carefully the items of memory to display or discuss. Likewise, the creation of new legacies through the dismantling of an old homestead barn or the renovation of a beloved classic car requires thoughtful choices about what to keep and what to discard. Capturing those moments of contemplation as well as the objects considered preserves layers of depth and meaning to the establishment of new legacies for generations to come.
Wardrobe trunks occupy a unique place in time and history. Formally, they existed for the transport of personal belongings; mechanically, they served as carefully crafted spaces of compartmentalization. Generally limited in production to the years between 1920 and 1945, the wardrobe trunk evokes for viewers nostalgia for stately lives and grandiose experiences. After researching these unique trunks, I began to consider the concept of emotional baggage – through the form and function of wardrobe trunks – as something neither good nor bad but as indeterminate forms riveted to objects and experiences we choose to share, hide or manipulate. If baggage is something we can curate, then perhaps it can be something which we can claim, honor, or even flaunt. Baggage Claim will create a space in which viewer-participants may interact with early 20th century wardrobe trunks and be empowered to examine, construct, create, and critique their personal baggage literally and metaphorically. In collaboration with me, viewer-participants will conceptualize, construct and capture their internal baggage as tangible, arranging or rearranging objects available for placement on hangers and in compartments of wardrobe trunks. In addition to offering participants a real creative stake in the project’s articulation, the project and installation will reveal how individuals see themselves and what aspects they choose to share or keep private. Baggage Claim gives us an opportunity to consider the gains and losses of laying bare the inner stuff of the self. Interested? Join the conversation and collaborate via Instagram or Twitter @drileylens.
