Enigmatic Allegory

• Main Author: Kinsey, Sara Virginia
• Format: Others
• Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2013
• Online Access: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/3227; http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4226&context=etd

My artwork is autobiographical and shaped by my experiences. Collectively, it serves as a visual journal expressing a range of emotions honoring meaningful people, portraying important places, and commemorating significant events in my life. My art documents the progression from turmoil, despair, and isolation to growth, recovery, and gratitude. I utilize a recurring set of subjective symbols which hold personal significance. These symbols, which include robots, eggs, chairs, shoes, and trash cans, help me create narratives and visual continuity across my body of work. I purposefully omit some information to mask the entirety of the story being told. Typically, these symbols represent people, most frequently myself. By covertly telling my story, I invite the viewer to interpret meaning based on their own distinct history. I place my methods outside the box of established painting and printing practices. After much experimentation and exploration with printmaking media, I have developed a technique with a strong foundation in traditional aquatint etching blended with graffiti-inspired pochoir ink application, or stenciling. This allows me to achieve a contemporary illustrative look within a media deep-rooted in tradition. In painting, I frequently revert to my printmaking background by layering pigments of varying levels of opacity, painting on metal plates, and then etching into the surface. This approach allows me to achieve richness in color, texture, line quality, and visual depth while sharing my story.