Negative Utopia

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Emilia C.

Blank printer paper, mechanical pencil, eraser

• Artist Statement

  A negative utopia is equivalent to the society we live in—but there’s no such thing as “utopia”. As we continue to try and reach this goal, this dream, we only move further towards dystopia. We always strive for perfection and envision a flawless world, but there is no such “perfection” to reach. My art is inspired by the Daoist concept of Yin and Yang, where opposites are necessary in order for there to be balance in the universe. The art illustrates the vision (hence the eye) of our world’s utopia (dream society), balanced with the presence of dystopia (corrupt and frightening society). On the left part of the eye, there is an unrealistic, fantasy, perfect society. On the right part of the eye, however, there is a post-apocalyptic, destroyed, hopeless society. These two represent how we cannot have the world we live in without a little bit of both. Within every utopia being built, there is a dystopia being established beneath it. For every dream being worked towards, the suffering of others is present and trade-offs are necessary. But we must learn to accept that we cannot always reach our ideal reality, and have to make the most out of the positives and negatives because that is key to balance in life.

• Creative Statement

  Creativity is a way of expressing myself uniquely, and being able to find ways to incorporate meaning into my art that no one would think of out of the blue. It is the beauty of what the mind is capable of how we interpret things in our own different ways.