making space
university of pittsburgh
studio arts senior exhibition
november 2020
Kylie
mericle
This piece focuses on creating another world, visible through the pages of this book. Each piece is designed to resemble a spread in an aged field guide for fairytale creatures. While a lot of the work in this genre focuses only on European folklore, especially that of the United Kingdom, I wanted this work to encompass creatures from across the globe. Eventually, these spreads and additional creatures not included in this exhibition will be bound into a physical book, (or an edition of books,) which will more closely resemble a field guide.
Much of my work, including this piece, focuses heavily on the fantastical. I tend to make work that conveys a certain mood or emotion, such as the feeling of turning through the pages of an ancient book filled with secrets. I enjoy making visually pleasing work that echoes the feeling of an illustration in a book of fairy tales, especially the work of the Brothers Grimm. My work often includes a bit of an edge, or darkness to it. To me, fantasy needs to include a bit of darkness to hold a viewer’s attention. I enjoy working narratively as well, which lends itself to my illustrative story-book style. While my work occasionally includes political messages, I prefer my work to be a meditative process rather than a way of venting my emotions. Creating the fine details that my work often features gives me an opportunity to let my mind wander while working. To me, there’s nothing better than coming out of this meditative state and looking at the work that I have done to reach my goal of a finished piece. All the tiny details slot together at once in front of me, and something that had once lived solely in my mind has now entered the world, free to communicate as it will.
