Isabel Davis
Isabel Davis
When I was seven, my family moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Singapore, where I have lived for the past 11 years. The artwork in my exhibition reflects memories and experiences of the earlier part of my childhood, a part of my life that has become more important to me recently. This is partially a result of COVID, as I have felt more isolated from my extended family, the natural environment and the culture of the US. I grew up playing in and exploring the outdoors, greatly influenced by my parents’ fields of work, horticulture and botany. These themes have constantly been present in my life, and I remember many times when my parents would stop to talk for 20 minutes about some plant on the side of the road. In my pieces, I highlight nature, the physical environment, geology, and plants and animals. Through the process of working on these pieces, I also realized the impact that geography has had on my life, which has helped me to decide that I want to study this subject at university.
I used a range of media in my exhibition: cardboard and clay, and acrylic and gouache. My mom and I always did different types of crafts together, and the variety of media in my exhibition reflects this. I hadn’t really realized how many things in our house we have made until one of my friends pointed it out. While looking through some of my old photos, I saw a lot of them were of me drawing and crafting. I grew up painting the plants in our yard with watercolour, making and upcycling things. Some of the memories that influenced my exhibition were of Halloween and fall, my favorite movies when I was 7, the geology and biodiversity in the Southwest, and spending time with my family. I approached many of the pieces by drawing on the local art in Arizona, like the birdhouses created by David Bruce who collects materials from the abandoned buildings and alleyways of Phoenix (which inspired my piece, Tree house), the metalwork and pervasive rust features throughout Arizona and the rest of the Southwest (which inspired my Stratified rock piece), and the influence Mexican folk art has on the culture in Phoenix (which inspired my pieces, Self portrait with flora and fauna, and Calavera dog).
I placed Saguaro in the center as it is the largest piece that I have and is the one that I am most proud of. It is also placed in the middle to separate the space because of its vertical composition. To its left, I grouped together with the pieces that are more naturalistic in design and have a more muted color scheme. The two realistic-style paintings, My grandmother and Monarch specimen, are placed on the wall. Below them are three sculptural pieces, with the heights of Stratified rock and Agave parryi huachucensis balancing Buffalo between them. To the right of the saguaro, the three pieces are less realistic and more colorful. Calavera dog and Tree house are grouped together as the most stylized pieces that I created. I wanted Self portrait with flora and fauna to be the last piece that visitors would engage with, as it references elements of my life in Singapore now. Through this exhibition, I wanted to share some of my best childhood memories with the audience as they make me happy.