100 x 146cm / 39.5 x 57.5 inches
Paper on Mounted Canvas
 
Arms trailing a ball of simple and enjoyable things from the outside world on black pages from magazines on a painted canvas from the streets of Madrid.
 
The canvas rested in my room for months. It was going to be used for a collaboration project with a friend of mine who is a painter, but alas, we are quaratined. The black background was inspired by a goldmine of black pages I found a music magazine. I thought about how to theme the piece for these strange times and while being confined in the walls of my Madrid apartment, I think emotionally, I gravitated towards the things I miss. The collection of positivity in the center was almost going to take the shape of a heart, but I thought a circle embodied similar feelings of love. My original idea was to have the globe held by one big hand made of smaller hands; and I started in that direction. After putting together a few fingers, I felt it wasnt the right direction for the piece. A hand should be slender, mine was shaping up to be clunky. I have learned many times in collage, that my best results come from respecting each cutout and trying to get the maximum out of each image; the hand idea required too much manipulation for my style. The hand transitioned into a free flowing trail.
 
This pandemic is testing our generosity and altruism. It feels like a lesson in learning to care for one another; to share. We are not at war, there are no zombies or aliens, and supply lines are maintaining output so far. Selfish behavior is ugly and nonsensicle, capitalism is a bust for prosperity, and we are experiencing an opportunity to reflect on our values, both individually and on a societal level. News is a bit of a black void these days, however, the stories that spotlight individual acts of kindness give me some hope. If you add all of those gestures together, they are impactful and help bridge the time until we get back to things we might not have realized we love so much.