Christina the Astonishing

Abstract

What is the nature of pain and suffering? How does the body define the human condition? How does psychological makeup affect our identity and perception? The objective of my studio practice is to use painting and drawing to investigate these questions, exploring the experience of pain and suffering through the lens of phenomenology, mental illness, and morality. I am interested in the tension between the mind and body, creating imagery that emphasizes psychological states exhibited by the body, and I consider how the multiplicity of being—our many selves made up of mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical components—resists simplification and interpretation. The making of art allows me a medium to process and physically grapple with experiences and ideas, and, in giving visual form to my own questions about how we exist in the world, I hope to connect with others.