Toxic Feed
Mixed Medium
2024, Dims N/A
Satisfying our taste buds is one of the most silent but deadly desires we humans seek to fulfill. Ask yourself, is it really worth the risks you’re putting yourself and others into? Yes others, because as long as you’re continuing to consume irresponsibly, you’re supporting corporate greed.
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This is not to judge anybody, it is simply a call to action to consider what’s best for not only yourself and your family but society as a whole moving forwards. With the younger generations already having enough crap on their plate literally and figuratively, problems are only worsening as we delve deeper into our flawed societal system. The “food” we are being fed is just one of many capitalism-bred issues.
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We like to believe that we make the choice in what we crave and ultimately eat but the fact of the matter is that we are constantly being manipulated and tempted to consume what big corporations want us to. From the highly addicting and stimulating flavors, down to the mesmerizing and misleading advertising and packaging. It’s all carefully planned to make you want to buy and continue to buy their products.
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Lobbying has allowed these corporations to legalize numerous unsafe ingredients put into their food products, many linked to a high increased risk of developing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Digital Dependency
Clay, Metal, Acrylic, Misc.
2024, 18"W x 9"D x 12"H
Is the phone dependent on the brain or is the brain now becoming dependent on the phone? Is technology advancing too fast for us to handle or are we just using it irresponsibly? What could life be like in even just 20+ years if we don’t change our current path and our relationship with technology? Just some questions to ask yourself when examining this piece.
Comfort in Discomfort (for the better)
Wood, Metal, Fabric, Wax
2024, 5.5"W x 6"D x 13"H
The common work chair is something that we often associate with comfort. The average person sits down throughout their day for so much longer than we used to and was designed to by nature. In modern society, we’re always striving to make our lives easier and more comfortable. Beyond physical comfort, we also strive to make life increasingly comfortable for us mentally. Which, many would say is not a bad thing, but it can become unknowingly unhealthy, and it has in many people without even acknowledging it.
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To further explain, you must understand that our brains are naturally lazy. Through evolution, our brain was designed to be this way to preserve energy for long-term survival. To make your brain not lazy requires a good amount of self-discipline, something that this consumerist society has us purposefully lacking.
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We as a society are becoming too comfortable in our unhealthy little comfort zones, and in fact, they’re shrinking. A lot of these severe physical and mental illnesses occurring today are all a byproduct of the lifestyle we’ve been conditioned into thinking is normal. Find comfort in discomfort and see how quickly your life changes for the better.
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Inspired by “The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter
Fallen (Iblis's Grief)
Metal Sculpture, w/ Glue, Resin, Spray Paint
2023, 17.5"W x 9"D x 20"H
Arguably, one of the more famous religious stories of history is the biblical story of The Fallen Angel. In the Islamic book the Quran, Satan, known as Lucifer in the bible, before becoming The Devil was not a fallen angel as the bible states. He was what’s known as a Jinn, and his name was Azazil. He was brought to heaven by angels and was supposedly one of the most beautiful beings in all of Heaven at the time.In the Quaran only humans and Jinn have what we know as “free will”.
Azazil later refused to bow down to Adam, God's great creation, so because of his arrogance and disobedience, he was cast out of the kingdom of Heaven by God and turned hideous. After becoming what we know as the devil, his name was changed to “Iblis”.
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With this sculpture, I wanted to capture that moment. Right after Azazil was cast out, looking up to the Heavens where he has fallen from. This moment of transformation between purity, golden, and beautiful, to now exposing the darkness within, becoming Iblis, darkness itself.
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Making this piece from metal was a great relation to how our skeletal system is practically our body’s foundational metal structure.
The material metal is also known to be cold and hard, as is the existence of the life of the fallen angel, whom the tempest now attempts to spread onto us.
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I enjoy invoking emotion with my art, this sculpture is meant to invoke a feeling of pure sorrow, grief, pain, and regret. The figure captured at this moment invokes an almost eerie feeling, yet is so visually pleasing and asymmetrically balanced, so recognizable and instantly thought-provoking, so angelic and so demonic at the same time. This is the feeling, the emotion, that I desired to capture. The balance of purity and corruption in coexistence.
Acceptable Poison
Wood Sculpture, w/ Mixed Medium
2023, 11"W x 8"D x 16.7H
Throughout my life alcohol has always surrounded me, everyone in my family is a drinker and some can be fairly heavy drinkers. Growing up I decided to follow their path and drown my myself in the numbness of drinking and having “fun” on the weekends. Eventually I figured out that I actually didn’t really like the feeling of being drunk as much as I thought, and the feeling on the days after drinking were worse.
In August of 2023, I decided that there was really no benefit to my drinking, and in continuation of my dedicated health journey, it only made sense to quit alcohol completely. I quit not only for the benefit of my mental and physical health but also to simply prove to myself that I could and had the self-discipline too.
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In the first few months of quitting, it was a struggle for sure, but it definitely gets easier every time I'd say no. Physically and mentally I've never felt better ever since I quit.