ARTWORK
art by Esme Allgood, romy binstein, Lauren Boysa, Kayla Palmer, George Stoica
Creative DIRECOR: Romy Binstein
Romy Binstein | Peace of Emotions, from “Piece of Emotions” series | 2023 | Sculpture, clay, wire, and watercolor | 10" x 6" x 4"
Peace of Emotions is the centerpiece of “Piece of Emotions." Using mixed media, Binstein portrays the emotional response experience when a person breaks out of the constraints and pressures others place on them throughout their life. The bag, frozen in time through clay, represents the passing-down of heirlooms–generational constraints–and pressure on individuals to do more to make them proud. Peace of Emotions illustrates the moment when one finally breathes for oneself.
“we used to watch
our shadows
dance, meld,
and then disfigure”
“the night we met i envied the sand ”
Order Salvation in Print
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Order Salvation in Print 〰️
Kayla Palmer | 16th of September | 2023 | Oil on canvas | 6' x 6'
On September 16th, 2022, Mahsa Amini was killed for not abiding by the hijab mandate, sparking mass protests within Iran and around the globe. Now over a year later, the protests persist, as Iranian citizens continue to risk their lives for those oppressed by the regime and the many lives that have been lost. The artwork reads “Women, Life, Freedom” in Farsi, a phrase created at the start of the protest movement, seeking to affirm the rights and liberties of women in all aspects of life.
Romy Binstein | Breaking the Cycle, from “Piece of Emotions” series | 2023 | Acrylic paint, paper, canvas, and clay | 8" x 10"
Created as part of “Piece of Emotions” series, Breaking the Cycle explores the mental consequences that arise from an attempt to break from the repetitive cycle of depression: a cycle always creeping its way back into one's life. Clay hands grip the paper, symbolizing a person’s control. No matter the external factors at present, represented by the text surrounding the window, one must keep this control, keep laboring to break the cycle in hopes to one day succeed.
Esme Allgood | Exposed Nerve | 2022 | Wire | 34” x 10”
With the concept of the body and its limits in mind, Exposed Nerve was inspired by the constriction and mechanics of only working with wire. Exposed Nerve acts as a physical demonstration of the pressures, guidances, and restrictions present in the artist's life.
George Stoica | State of Mind | 2023 | Oil on canvas | 9” x 12”
Inspired by the natural scenery expereinced during the artist's everyday walks outside, State of Mind spawns from a need to pay homage to the natural world, to document the flora around him as reflecting his tranquil experience taking it in.
Romy Binstein | Flowering Anguish, from “Piece of Emotions” series | 2023 | Mixed media with canvas - wire, paper, and charcoal | 8" x 10"
Flowering Anguish is the contrasting piece to Serenity, a work featured in Squinch's 2022, Resurrection issue, and a part of Binstein's “Piece of Emotions” series. Serenity portrays a woman in water. It serves as a reminder that there is no such thing as a straight-lined path in life. Eventually, obsticles appear. Flowering Anguish represents the blossoming of one's soul that can occur when they finally allow themself to experience all their emotions.
Romy Binstein | Beautiful Confinement 1 | 2023 | Digital Photography | 4000 × 2250 pixels
These photographs contemplate the manufacturing of artificial paradises in the enclosures at the Arizona Zoo. Animals live longer in captivity than in the wild. But they are still captives, destined to forever live a liminal existence; their lives are in the hands of another species. Ask yourself, who is their enclosure's design for? Those inhabiting, or those visiting? Does it enhance our experience, or does it point toward the environment they will never know?
Romy Binstein | Beautiful Confinement 2 | 2023 | Digital Photography | 4000 × 2250 pixels
Lauren Boysa | Untitled Love | 2023 | Oil on stretched canvas | 40" x 47"
In Lauren Boysa’s current work, she prefers to work with saturated colors in oil paint on canvas and works with combining themes of nature and culture to portray a harmonious environment. In these current works, this oneness is expressed through human-animal creatures living an ordinary life. By referencing her own life when creating these compositions, she hopes others can connect and get lost in the universal experience of every piece.
Kayla Palmer | (My Dear) جا نم | Oil on canvas | 2023 | 12" x 16"
The mother and daughter are encapsulated by the dove, symbolizing their love, though their notion of mother-daughter love is limited by the space that contains them. The mother’s gaze looks away, while the daughter stares out to the viewer, seeking an answer to the feeling of absence that exists in some intangible space within their relationship.
Kayla Palmer | Can You Fell My Love Now? | 2023 | Gauche and Oil on canvas | 11" x 14".
Can You Feel My Love Now? portrays one’s attempt at trying to preserve the memory of a loved one after their passing. This act of preservation takes the soul on a path of reconciliation with feelings of guilt; having not shown someone the full extent of their love while they were still alive. Through various symbols, the work depicts one’s trials at trying to communicate with someone who is no longer here, in hopes that their love will reach them.