Preview
Creation Date
2023
Description
Material: Pencil and Charcoal on Cotton Paper
Dimensions: 273 X 210 mm
Projects Advisor: Tony Gerald Conrad, John A. Shimon, Benjamin D. Rinehart
Year of Graduation: 2023
The Illusion of Autonomy:
A puppet, imitating the footsteps of others, moves towards an elusive light. It strives to maintain balance but is plagued by a deep-rooted unease, as if unseen forces push and pull from behind.
Unbeknownst to it, the uneasiness it feels stems from the discomfort of following, the uncertainty of the future, and doubt regarding the light at the end. It attributes these feelings to a fear of falling behind others.
The puppet pushes itself forward, believing it is acting of its own accord, convinced that it must continue down this chosen path.
Does it feel a sense of disconnection between its heart and its actions? The puppet remains a slave to invisible strings.
Medium
Drawing
Rights
Copyright for this work is held by the artist.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Keywords
The Illusion of Autonomy
Artist Statement
This series of drawings and stories on the theme of ‘Disorientation and Pursuit’, based on philosophical concepts of existentialism and idealism, attempt to present an abstract combination of the reality of the external material world with the reality of the internal spiritual world through the symbolical situation and atmosphere that is visually implicit.
These four drawings and stories may appear unrelated, but they are interconnected. They represent my experiences, feelings, and reflections during my four years of university. From not knowing where to go, to realizing that my direction was not entirely my own decision, feeling helpless, and then accepting the reality I had to face, and understanding what I needed to do next. I display these drawings in the gallery as my senior capstone, as they were inspired by my reflections on these four distinct stages of my journey. I hope that others can resonate with and be inspired by my work and realize something they truly love and can do during this uncertain stage of university, where the further future is unknown.