The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
2022 - 2023
Independent Project 20
Independent Project 20
This year, I am beyond satisfied with the way my independent project turned out. Over the course of 29 days, I created a series of acrylic paintings showing a representation of obscure feelings of existentialism. I tried to capture the essence of neologisms through visual representation, exploring the way language can shape and form our perception of the world around us. Each painting in this series highlights a unique neologism, crafted to convey meaning through interpretation, and I made use of typography in order to depict the definition of each neologism. The first painting in this series is called Vellichor (vel-i-kore), the strange wistful nostalgia of used bookstores. It shows the inside of an old bookstore, each wall lined with bookshelves, every empty space taken up by the silhouette of book piles. The second painting is a loose interpretation of lachesism (la-ke-sism), the desire to experience and survive a disaster. “To plunge over a waterfall. To survive a plane crash. To lose everything in a fire”, is how I described every aspect of this painting using typography, and to show a visual representation of these, I drew a waterfall, red spider lilies — or more commonly known, death flowers — and the fall of icarus. The third and last painting in this series is called Anecdoche (anek-doe-kee), a conversation where everyone is talking but no one is listening. This painting shows torn up papers containing words that make up a broken conversation. As the notes cascade down, the messages get more torn while simultaneously getting more serious, the top of the painting having messages like, “I’m going out” or “We’re moving in together”, while the bottom of the painting depicts an individual’s struggle with mental health or addiction. These bottom messages are more torn up as they are the type of things that often get lost in conversations. The bottom of the canvas shows anecdoche and its definition, but getting covered up or “lost” in the notes, much like the words often held in conversation.
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