Artist Statement
My artistic interests and work lie within the realms of illustration and printmaking, and the translation of one to another. My work exists across the stages and processes of drawing, both physically and digitally, and printmaking, primarily screenprinting. Figurative and colorful, my creations are a playground for whimsical characters to live out their experiences. The characters invite viewers to celebrate the things that we feel as humans, face up to darkness that we all experience from time to time, and find the humor in it while doing so.
Welcome to the Wasteland is a series of posters introducing viewers to the characters Flipsy and Potnik and their home, the Wasteland. The Wasteland is a post-apocalyptic world overrun by disease, violence, corruption, and wealth-hoarding overlords. Flipsy and Potnik closely resemble the archetypes of the fool and the hermit, two sides of my personality that I have tended to switch between amidst the confusion and changes prompted by events over the past year. There is an implied connection between the two characters, but the nature of their relationship is unclear. What is clear is that when push comes to shove, as long as there is someone in your corner, you’re in a better place than you could be.
The series illustrates the absurd nature of an uncertain world. To me the posters are stories without a beginning or end (though they may have those at some point), like a journal in a time capsule from a parallel world. There are no heroes in the Wasteland, only the people who make it to the next day. Welcome to the Wasteland acknowledges that our world and environment isn’t always the greatest while also implying that despite this it can be endured by those who are willing to try and those who accept help.
