Elsewhere

These days, I feel trapped. Trapped by COVID19, which has kept me from visiting my elderly parents in California. Trapped by uncertainty, which seems to be the theme of 2020. Trapped by the very particular strain of existential dread that hits people in their late 20s. Trapped by the seemingly endless project that has occupied me in lab for the past four years. Trapped by my restlessness – some part of me knows that I should appreciate the fact that I have this incubation period to explore my interests, but I’m too ungrateful not to take it for granted. I may be trapped in the physical sense – stuck in Iowa, stuck in lab, stuck in training for who knows how long – but art gives me an outlet. Through art, I can explore both the edge of the universe and the mysterious depths of the sea. Here, I used fountain pen ink on paper to create tangible evidence of these imagined expeditions. These pieces can be interpreted in multiple ways. Like a Rorschach test, they reveal something about the viewer’s psyche, and every interpretation is valid. For me, the restless one, I see a refuge from the restraints of my daily life through the exploration of parts unknown.” – Tina Arkee