Joshua Littlefield
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Group 01 ( Everything Is Easy If You Don't Do Anything )
2020
Mixed media collage printed on silk chiffon, metal, wood
3 ft. 5 in. x 1 ft. 5 in. x 8 ft. 5 in.
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Group 02 ( Shun People - Look Away And Be Alone )
2020
Mixed media collage printed on silk chiffon, metal, wood
3 ft. 5 in. x 1 ft. 5 in. x 8 ft. 5 in.
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Group 03 ( Failures At Attempting An Intimate Relationship )
2020
Mixed media collage printed on silk chiffon, metal, wood
3 ft. 5 in. x 1 ft. 5 in. x 8 ft. 5 in.
Statement
Synaptic Breezeway is a series of large (eight feet, five inches by three feet, five inches by one foot, five inches) collages printed onto silk chiffon, and hung from freestanding metal and wood posts.
The work broadly discusses language and translation - my own body is used to archive physical and emotional happenings that mentally connect to a past moment in time, instant imagery captures those moments (which are subsequently paired with similar found photographs), while color, texture and material are applied to their surfaces as a way to visually communicate these personal experiences (thoughts, feelings, smells, sounds, sensations, etc.). Synaptic Breezeway then unveils and humanizes the de-compartmentalization of grief - especially in the United States, many of us reside in bully cultures (ones that reward outward, cutthroat success while simultaneously punishing open displays of emotion). As such, the survival strategies for many people have developed to be ones of avoidance, where we may choose to ignore addressing the mental repercussions of personal hardships, choosing instead to portray outward perfection as a means of preventing further damage. While these pieces do not provide exact answers to exact questions, they are my attempts at an inward reconciliation (from struggles in coming to terms with an LGBTQIA sexuality, to addressing crippling body image issues and isolation), as well as my invitation for others to do the same.
Each print is a transitory point, a breezeway between consciousness and physicality. They exist in the ether between my comprehension and everyone else’s - the "what" that is being translated and the "it" that it ends up being translated into are important, but the real truthfulness of the pieces lie in the crescendo of that process - the act of translation. They are grounded in physical space by their stands (as to assert visual dominance), but are delicate and semi-permeable in nature (as to acknowledge struggles of sincerity).
Individually, the pieces function as unique scrolls that tell enclosed narratives, or, when paired with others, may combine to discuss larger issues.
Photographic & Electronic Media (MFA) Students