Productivity and professionalism are ingrained in your core values by the time you reach adulthood. It is expected that you have a clear plan and that you are taking steps towards your goals. Burnout becomes glorified in this process, and freedom – especially the kind that is rooted in childlike joy – is not up for discussion.
Through my piece, Fisher, I wanted to speak to the importance of childlike joy and play. Oftentimes this form of expression is viewed in a derogatory light, as it is seen as unproductive, foolish, and well childlike. However, there is great value found in the freedom that a child has when expressing themselves. Children are authentic. They do not get tangled up with desires to appear a certain way or accomplish specific things. They create out of joy and with immense vulnerability.
Fisher is a piece made up of indexical prints. I used Heelys, which are typically a childrens shoe, to create these marks. Before creating this piece I was tempted to do all sorts of preparatory things such as experimenting or mapping out a design in advance. However, I reflected back to why this piece was important to me and chose to approach it with freedom. I laid the paper out across the studio floor and blasted my favorite summer playlist as I started to simply play. I became more excited with each mark and let curiosity and wonder drive my process. There was risk embedded in this process, but there was also an immense release of pressure. I was able to simply create. I did not worry about any splatters or lines that went a bit wonky. Instead, I accepted them, learnt to appreciate them and what they contributed to the piece spontaneously, and carried on. I used red ink to further my confidence in this newfound freedom. The red color served as an act of boldness. I wanted to rebel against the crisp professionalism that the white paper inhabited. The paper I used was intentionally large to encourage this boldness, but also to combat the association between the sizes of works and their importance in the art community. Often it is large works that are viewed as masterpieces; works that should be viewed in awe and taken with utmost seriousness. I wanted to see how a piece that embodies play would appear in this same context. Will it be respected in the same regard? Will people view it differently after they understand how it was made – will they respect it less?
This piece was a release for me. It allowed me to reconnect with the joy of creating that once sparked inside of me. My hope is that anyone who encounters this work can reflect on the important role that play has in their life and encourage them to spark the childlike joy in them again.
