In mid November 2020 I had the amazing opportunity to make a collaboration with Lois Emma Harkin for the online virtual exhibition initiative that she created titled “Stay Connected”, that is currently running from 15th of November to 15th of December. This exhibition is an extension of Harkin’s most recent project titled ‘How We Do It’, an online group exhibition of similar nature but at a smaller scale.
“Stay Connected” is a Virtual 3D online art exhibition composed of 23 international artists, paired with an artist profile on the exhibition’s website and a feature on the curator’s social media. This exhibition is showcased in a 3D modelled gallery, available in VR format, where the audience can easily access and see the works. The main goal of this exhibition is to provide a unique and safe space for artists to showcase their work under the difficulties presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, and bring together creators of various backgrounds to present their diverse works.
My work
My works consist of a series of three watercolour pieces titled “Summer Nostalgia”. This collection is a reflection on my longing for the hot summer weather and how these paintings function as a window to a past long gone, presenting nostalgic scenes of locations from my childhood in an attempt to reproduce the feeling of the “perfect moment, with the perfect weather”, as our childhood memories tend to be. These pieces also function as a study on the process of distortion or memories, particularly on romanticising past situations via the lens of childhood ignorance and innocence, where moments of hard labour are later transformed into the idea of fun learning experiences, intense uncomfortable weather is viewed as “ideal” and worn out landscapes are turned into “preserved history”. This series puts the accuracy of the mind into question, reflecting on the contrast between reality and perception by contradicting each beautiful visual with a harsh title.
The first piece of the collection added to this proposal is titled “Broken Staircases”, the second is “Finally Shade” and the third “Hardwork”.
Online exhibition
The “Stay Connected” exhibition occurred entirely online on a 360 virtual tour with an added VR navigation option, alongside a website dedicated for this initiative, where you can find more information on the exhibition and also read the artists’ profiles. All artworks displayed can be found on the curators’ Instagram.
Being part of this art initiative was an incredible experience that I did not anticipate but was delighted by, particularly due to the online 3D and VR navigation that looks absolutely fantastic and produced some beautiful exhibition renders. Showcasing artworks in an gallery space is an aspiration that I share with most art practitioners, and so this collaboration was an opportunity that I jumped into as soon as I could. I am also proud to be able to contribute to the main goal of this virtual exhibition, which was to create a Covid safe space where artists could present their latest creations without risk of contamination, while simultaneously bridging the gap between Art and Audience by creating a space that is easily accessible to most demographics.
Having my artworks exhibited next to great international artists is a joy and an honour, and I’m grateful to Lois Emma Harkin for bringing on board of this initiative,