Alessandro jumao-as

I portray the theme of “Reality and Fantasy” throughout all my chosen pieces. I utilized 2-dimensional style with 3-dimensional works and photography. Almost all my paintings contain elements of both reality and fantasy concepts. ‘My time in quarantine’ being the only exception to this as it features pictures directly from reality alone. Through the use of unrealistic colors in my works, I am able to render the idea of fantasy as it’s the application of my imagination. I incorporate elements of reality by utilizing designs and things used in life such as trees and people. I experimented with designs and patterns to apply my ideas and concepts in creating my artworks. The common media I utilized is acrylic paint because of its convenience and ease of application. I especially like how easy the paint spreads and fast it dries.

The materials used to make my artworks are; Acrylic, wire, pen, paper, newspaper, etc. because they are the most familiar and fitting for the concepts. Pen on paper allowed me to explore intricate patterns and forms. Wire was interesting to use and it allowed me to create detailed 3D forms. The art forms I used are; painting, paper mache, digital photos and silk-screen printing. I experimented with these art forms to explore both 2D and 3D rendition of forms and space. It allowed me to explore ways to render my ideas into concrete forms. I always have the idea of a viewer’s interpretation in my mind when brainstorming. I know that many different audiences will have varied views on my artworks and that is what I aim for. “Throughout the ages” is a painting I’m really proud of which features an upwards view of a group of trees of varying design all rendered by pen. This painting is based upon the idea of monophyletic groups, where a species will grow and evolve differently from their ancestors based on environmental pressures. The difference of trees shows their varied growth in their own environments. “A school of spiders” is another artwork I’m proud of that features a web containing spiders made of wire. This was made with the concept of a school and how it works; with the principal being the biggest spider, those near it are the teachers, those on the edge are the students and the web is the school. I developed my skill to draw with a pen with “Throughout the ages” and “Mind Garden” where I was able to apply different patterns and designs. A common challenge I faced was upscaling my designs since every canvas I had was bigger than the paper I drew it on and so it made it difficult to draw bigger. It was through repetition that I was able to improve on this challenge since I got better with each artwork. A final piece is “2 sides of the same coin” which features 2 faces facing away from each other facing things that they like. This is the center piece for my theme of reality and fantasy because it shows the clear divide between myself in reality and my side in fantasy. I believe that each person has at least something like this as it may vary per person but this is my version of it. This was done in acrylic as it allowed for easy application of colors on small spaces and divisions.

I portray the theme of ‘Reality and Fantasy’ throughout all my chosen pieces. “2 sides of the same coin” will be the centerpiece due to it being a divide between reality and fantasy. Paintings that incorporate more reality elements will be on the right while those that incorporate more fantasy elements will be on the left. I want the viewers to look at my arrangement and consider their own sense of reality and fantasy. I want people to either challenge my or their view of both spectrums, this is to make them think about how they are living their lives. If they lean too heavily to either spectrum then they should reconsider their lifestyle, I believe that the best way to live life is to live in the middle.