nowhere now here blue 200 x 150 cm

flashe, graphite and woody pastel on raw canvas

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the three no where now here paintings came through as the culmination of a class I participated in at the University of Arts Berlin, in 2023.

they were created on site at the kunstraum m3 gallery for our group show titled Now Where?, which was derived from the theme and a piece I had painted earlier in our time together titled

NOW

HERE

the theme of our show was against gentrification. i was not aligned with this theme because it feels like a futile pursuit - rather than being against anything, why not be for something instead?

i decided to hold back when my classmates were choosing their desired space in the gallery and what was left was one large, exposed brick wall. as i took in the expanse of the wall and the beautiful exposed brick, i knew immediately that three large paintings wanted to come through. I only had three days to collect materials, build and stretch the canvases, and paint all three in a room full of my classmates. the way i paint is very expressive and often very intimate. it was challenging to be so private in an open space.

I love the play with the word NOWHERE as it relates to any creative endevor. when we create, we start with nothing, NOWHERE – a blank canvas, a blank page, an empty arrangement – and arrive at something, NOW HERE – which is also a great metaphor for life.

I had the poem i am here (below) playing in a loop that guests could sit and listen to on a chair I had placed across the room, with headphones.