Playing Cards, March 2019
Collage
I want to explore the idea of the subject through interpersonal relationships by using the material of playing cards. As collages were used as a feminist strategy in art history, my works take a contemporary approach to the technique by using cards and its motifs to critique institutional cultures that offer values and beliefs about social and political identity. Although institutions remain in control of dominant discourse by establishing value and belief combinations in literacy, I strive to counter the notion of human activity as simply perceived types of social practices by instead emphasizing personal subjects that recognize higher levels of intentionality in interaction.
By portraying relationships of figures, the collages seek to validate interpersonal relationships with meaningful connections. As the face card figures seemingly interact together through responses (or lack of), I want to represent the living subject that seeks to understand and relate to another, despite differences. While human communities follow a set of customs and social practices, interpersonal attitudes hold individuals within communities accountable for their thoughts and actions. As subjects of consciousness, individuals are not only constrained by social pressures but can also exercise personal sovereignty, where people have the choice to negotiate and agree in a society bound to have metaphysical disagreements. Through arrangements of playing cards, the collages depict the relationships of figures to portray personal subjects motivated by complexity and intentionality.
