To me, art is a form of expression and a means of reflecting on pressing social, cultural, and environmental issues. After taking an immersive art and activism course at the Rhode Island School of Design, I wanted to focus on using art and the creative process to spearhead social change. My first social consciousness series was called Social Bias: Race and Gender, and Desmond was one of the many narrative portraits depicting my Hotchkiss peers’ experiences with and reactions to social bias. Desmond’s experience was about the conflict between self and society in regard to his sexuality and behavior.
Unless I am creating a piece for the sole purpose of experimenting with a new medium, I allow my concept to dictate the type of medium for each piece. For Desmond, I thought the fluidity and transparency of alcohol ink was incredibly representative of Desmond’s desire to be free of restraint and act how he wanted to act, and the layered mylar created a subtle indication of inhibition by restricting the full flow of the ink by the edges.
I am currently working on a painting about the impact of the word exotic and the history of human zoos in the United States. I hope to continue to use my artwork to reflect on my experiences as I begin studying at Tufts University.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicole Morikawa
NICOLE MORIKAWA is a 12th grader at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.
