Trapped

CONTENT WARNING: This artwork contains or explores content that touches on any of the following topics: abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, verbal); aspects of psychology and mental health and contains depictions of self-harm, substance abuse, eating disorders, or suicide; swears or curses; hurtful or hateful language; discrimination (race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation); aspects of pregnancy; blood, violence, assault, kidnapping, trauma, or dying. Please read or view with care.

Eliza E.

• Artist Statement

  The idea of being trapped is an idea that is familiar to many. Oftentimes when we think about this idea of being trapped we think of it in a literal sense. You may think of criminals as being trapped or dogs in a shelter, so how could a non-criminal lawful human being be trapped? The idea of being trapped isn’t nearly as powerful as the emotion of being trapped because a legal and lawful individual may feel more trapped than a criminal in solitary. The emotion and the literal idea of being trapped are two completely different things. To convey the feeling of being trapped it requires deep reflection about why people feel trapped. People can feel trapped because of a multitude of reasons. Maybe they don’t like their job, their marriage, their current emotional state, or how their life is unfolding. To convey this feeling I chose to use a black and white filter in order to limit the image. By limiting the image I hope to convey this feeling of being trapped because I’m not allowing it to have color. Instead, I can be more in control of the image because I won't have colors adding extra meaning that I can’t necessarily control. The black-and-white filter also allows me to play with lighting in a way that I haven’t been able to before since it leaves a more dramatic contrast between the whites and blacks in the colors. The dramatic contrast adds a more timeless and dramatic feeling.

• Creative Statement

  Creativity means expressing yourself through your imagination and turning your feelings and emotions into art. Creativity is so important in art because any creative process starts from a good idea that blossoms into your final project. Creativity allows you to have a space to experiment without being judged.