Douglysium

By their nature they change or don’t even exist but societies go out of their way to maintain them. For this course the syllabus recommended that the students pick a theme to tie each of this semester’s assignments together. The theme I picked was change. For the this project I wanted to explore the idea that there are all kinds of structures, both physical and social, that we take for granted as being “natural” or the default. As opposed to very malleable or constantly changing things. I also believe that many do not appreciate just how “alien” and different societies of the past were, even those within the same areas as modern ones. Different ideas of gender, race, money, etc. The piece itself is meant to represent how even the things that look unchangeable or almost impossible to move are, in reality, constantly being maintained. 

I used the ocean, waters, wind, and clouds to represent common forms of erosion. As the building, and to an extent society, is constantly being eroded by these forces it is constantly being built or rebuilt. Within the building is a mountain, and out of the mountain a dome has been carved in a manner meant to invoke the domes of the Greeks or Romans. Around that dome a more modern building is being created. This further emphasizes the passage of time and how everything is built upon something else. I also hope to get the viewer to question what “natural” even is to an extent. Where the mountains starts and ends is blurred. The streaks across the skies are stars. I imagined the scene was occurring at high speeds to the stars and sun in the sky streak by as the planet completes its rotation in seconds. Like a video that was put on fast forward 

#douglysiumart #traditionalart #ink

1: Ink in a linocut carving depicting a modern building being constructed around an older Greek inspired building that itself has an old mountain jutting through it. The structures all sit on an island and are all being eroded by wind and water. Cranes and structures depict the modern building constantly being built up and repaired as it is eroded by time. The sky has the clouds of a storm and streaks meant to resemble stars quickly moving through a night sky, as if you are watching footage being sped up.