Faces of Diversity

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George Floyd, Covid Protestors, Astroworld Victims, Streams of Refugees, Homeless Families, the Disadvantaged Everywhere: These fluid groups of humanity are individuals with distinct features and personalities; faces that we may or may not find enjoyable or familiar, comforting or frightening. We may view them with contempt or applaud them for their convictions. Empathy is waning, and division between polarized groups is deepening into chasms. It's time to step back and recognize that, among the seemingly unidentifiable faces in the crowds, these individuals need understanding and compassion.

The impetus behind my project is the desire to create a visual, visceral prompt that helps people see a friendly face everywhere, allowing us to come together in the spirit of empathy and healing. Different mediums including castings, photography, photography transferred on metal, wood sculpture, etched glass, and painting on silk or canvas, will be used to convey the full range of emotional content in this idea. Using these different mediums in this body of work will allow me to fully express this idea with maximum impact. The completed art pieces will be a combination of interactive and stand-alone pieces, allowing the evolution of presentation possibilities, based on community response.