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"Disjunction Installation"

by Emma Riddick

Watercolor and paint pens on paper - (2021-03-02)
Color is a constant in any piece of art I make. I made these pieces with watercolor and ink, creating bright blocks of color, each color to convey a different mood or emotion. The inspiration for this series of portraits was the sense of disorientation and disjunction that I have felt over time, and especially over the course of this year. Each portrait represents a different emotion; frustration, anger, exhaustion, anxiety, and fear. The goal of these paintings was to identify and focus on the negative emotions I feel in the hopes of turning them into something beautiful. I have felt so much anxiety over Covid-19, so much frustration over the bigoted and racist systems on which our country is built and so much fear over the future. I feel so much anger towards the police and the government, and exhaustion from trying to change them. I have learned through making these paintings that negative emotions are just as powerful as positive ones and that exhaustion, anger, anxiety, frustration, and fear can all be motivators for change.

Installation view of all ten artworks.