THE SOCIAL: A CONSUMED REALITY

THE SOCIAL: A CONSUMED REALITY is an installation of five mixed-media portraits. Each portrait is based on an individual that answered surveys regarding varying elements of the human experience like, loss, forgiveness, regret, and happiness. Throughout the installation, yarn is used to mimic the hair of the figure, and materials like glitter, oil pastel, and gel medium were used to develop additional layers. Each bundle of yarn was individually embellished into the canvas in order to create a dense thickness that can occur in human hair. This installation is a part of a body of work that stems from the responses to the surveys. Works that use video, music, and physical paintings reference aspects of the surveys. The results of the surveys showed that even though an individual can experience the same event or feelings as another person, the way we interpret and act is heavily influenced by one’s race, gender, class, and overall background.