After two intense days of setting up, I finally finished with setting up my exhibition space at Artomatic in Crystal City, Virginia (located just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC). Here are a few previews of what to expect if you visit my space in person.
My exhibit will be located on the 10th floor in a room that’s around the corner from the elevators. For this year’s Artomatic I’m focusing on my photography skills and using Adobe Photoshop. It’s based on a series of photos called Occupy the Dollhouse, which you can view at either Tumblr, Facebook, or my Artomatic catalogue.
More after the jump...
Here is a description of Occupy the Dollhouse that I excerpted from the introduction to this exhibition.
The Occupy movement had suddenly sprung up. Soon there were Occupy camps all over the world as people, who said they represented the 99% majority, began to challenge the 1% of the population who has enormous power and control over this nation’s resources. I began to visit the two Occupy sites in Washington, DC as well as the one in Baltimore and I felt inspired that people were openly challenging the current system in a non-violent manner.
Soon after the rise of the Occupy movement, there was a Facebook parody group called Occupy Lego Land, which showed the Lego Minifigs in revolt against the system. So I had an idea of doing my own photographic Occupy parody. Instead of using Legos, I turned to my doll collection to portray events based on what I saw at the Occupy sites in real life. I also wanted to show off my skills in photography and Adobe Photoshop.
In this exhibit I tried to reflect the DIY aesthetic of the Occupy movement. Instead of using frames and mattboards, I hung my pictures directly on the wall in the same way that various flyers at the Occupy sites were posted on the sides of tents or portable boards. On the upside, the prices of these prints are lower compared to other Artomatic exhibits.
Doing the series was therapeutic for me because it got mind mind off my current troubles. I tried to be as respectful to the Occupy movement as much as possible.
On that note, here is what my Occupy the Dollhouse exhibit will look like when Artomatic opens next Friday.
Artomatic is located at 1851 South Bell Street just a block away from the Crystal City Metro stop on the Yellow/Blue Lines. Here is a banner that's located on South Bell Street across the street from the Metro stop entrance.
This is the Artomatic building at 1851 South Bell Street.
Here are some lovely spring flowers that are currently blooming outside the Artomatic building.
The next few photos are of my own exhibit, which is located on the 10th floor around the corner from the elevators.
Here is a close-up of the small table that will include a guest book that visitors can sign along with copies of a promo flyer including my personal contact information in case anyone wants to buy any of my prints. I will also have two decorating touches on this table. Since all of the photographs on display in my exhibit features dolls, I thought it would be cool to have at least one doll on display in the exhibit. The only thing is that I was reluctant to use any of the dolls that are in my permanent collection because, given the expected large influx of visitors, I was afraid that someone will steal it. I found a perfect solution. I found these two dolls (known as Ty Li'l Ones) at a local Five Below that were on sale for $5 each. They are pretty cute but they were also perfect because if they ended up being stolen, it won’t take a major hit on me either emotionally or financially.
With over a thousand participating artists, I'm sure that there will be other political themed art besides mine. Artomatic will formally open to the public this Friday, May 18 at 6 p.m. and it will remain open until June 23. For more information and directions visit either the official Artomatic site or see the official promo video below.