ABOUT
@bu_graphicdesign
@bostonpainting
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Sofia Barroso
A WAY INWARD
I find myself in a continuous inner dialogue, constantly questioning, and sometimes discovering.
Photography embraced as a daily practice has become a medium through which I indulge in the present moment. I capture fleeting moments—those often overlooked or rarely noticed. I cherish these seemingly ordinary instances as they form an integral part of my narrative that I feel compelled to share.
The exercise of photographing serves as practice through which I uncover the allure of the mundane, it compels me to slow down, observe keenly, and decipher the nuanced visual language of time. Akin to the transient nature of moments, light itself is ephemeral, adding depth and temporality to my exploration.
Through alternative photographic processes and printmaking. I transform my images into tangible forms, integrating bodily engagement, materiality, and physical presence to my work. By incorporating fabric, paper, thread, paint, and other elements, I embrace the notion of possibilities and through experimentation, I challenge the conventional understanding of processes such as cyanotype and silkscreen printing, leading to continual discoveries.
From inception to completion, my artistic journey is a profound and ongoing relationship with my inner self. The constant questioning, challenging, encouraging, and validation form the intricate dance between introspection and creation. My work represents my most valuable form of self-discovery—a visual and tangible expression of the dialogue within.
Cyanotype on fabric, 25 × 25 in.
Cyanotype on fabric, 30 × 22 in.
Silkscreen on paper, 30 × 22 × 2 in.
Image transfer on panels, each 8 × 8 × 1 in.
she/her
Delaney C. Burns
I am the culmination of all the women who have come before me, a product of their love and labor, a labor that I have seen go unnoticed and unappreciated. This body of work is a celebration of their effort as well as a critique of the gendered roles they have been forced into. I draw upon these intimate, personal moments to understand historical and contemporary issues.
These reflections come from a deep empathy and desire to understand hidden histories that are intertwined with current events today, such as the ongoing struggle for reproductive autonomy. Though often seen as a contemporary conversation, various plants and herbs have been used worldwide for centuries for abortion and birth control. These plants are more than just symbols of reproductive justice and the freedom to choose, they represent strength, hope, and resilience. I juxtapose the plants with text from letters, notes, cards, and diary entries the women in my family have written to capture their individuality and create intimacy with the subject. While many of these experiences are specific to the women in my family, they reflect a larger collective history of gender roles, gendered violence, and generational knowledge.
The physicality of printmaking becomes emblematic of the unseen labor of generations of women. Graining stones, carving wood, and pulling prints become a meditation, while my bookmaking practice parallels the act of mending and sewing. I visually and metaphorically layer other women’s stories and experiences with my own to capture the adoration, rage, and grief I feel when analyzing the roles they have taken on. Through the critique of societal norms and shortcomings, I seek to understand my place in the world and unearth a larger history that connects us.
Risograph with monotype, 11 × 17 in.
Acetone transfer on tea bags, 9½ × 16½ in.
Lithograph, 16¼ × 20 in.
she/her
Julianne Dao
I am interested in how the lack of visibility of an image may reinforce the act of looking, through recognizability and interaction with space, light, and shadow, to create an experience that goes beyond seeing an image. To engage these concepts, I explore the theme of ephemerality through nature. Each of my works captures the essence of an experience by exploring images of nature that are processed to border on the edge of visibility. Ephemerality is conveyed through imagery, material, and juxtapositions between obfuscation and visibility.
Nature is an inherently ephemeral subject. It is constantly transforming and never stagnant. Images of water, plants, lights, and shadows highlight nature’s ephemeral qualities, alluding to general feelings of nostalgia, familiarity, and yearning. To enhance and embody these feelings, material and medium are essential. Materials have the ability to create the impression of various sensations, tangible and intangible. Using translucent fabrics and paper, my work interacts with light and air to describe the delicate, hazy, and fleeting qualities of ephemerality. These materials are able to capture light and cast shadows to encompass the image not only on its surface but also in the space it occupies.
Toward the concept of ephemerality, where clarity is always fluctuating in a moment that is difficult to preserve, I use a variety of techniques creating juxtapositions between the recognizable and the nearly undetectable image. Printmaking techniques of blind embossment and chine collé allow for layering of various imagery and materials, with each layer concealing or highlighting the imagery. The source of the imagery comes from photographs, mainly polaroids, that for me, suggest nostalgia. Utilizing the medium’s unpredictability results in intentionally degraded images that speak to the passage of time, obscured moments, and ephemerality.
Collagraph blind embossment with inkjet print chine collé,
24 × 18 in.
Collagraph and inkjet print, 21 × 17 in.
Woodcut with collagraph blind embossment, 18 × 13 in.
she/her
Emily Taylor Rice
The complicated narratives and often serious realities surrounding mental health and substance use disorders are what lie at the heart of my work. I navigate and reflect on the emotional geography that surrounds these experiences through the personal lens of alcoholism. Through photographs, monotype prints, collage, and silkscreen prints on found textiles, I aim to emphasize the force and oppression of addiction while acknowledging the release that can be found through acceptance and the choice of recovery.
Through abstraction and symbolism, I create visual metaphors that illustrate emotional complexity, struggle, growth, and strength. The concepts of time and memory are incorporated into my work through repetition and pattern. Processes of embossing and printing leave their traces, similar to how emotional upheavals leave scars that cannot be erased. Pigments collide with but also delicately caress surfaces, emulating feelings of both desperation and relief. I use printmaking as an artistic means of communication and as a form of activism. Addiction does not discriminate, and I aim to provoke thoughtful responses, fostering empathy and understanding.
There is beauty in damage. Breakage and disruption in my pieces invite an examination of the painful aspects of addiction while rebuilding the works through collage allows for a new narrative to emerge. This interplay between deconstruction and reconstruction speaks to the space between dying and living. I highlight the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual transformations that can take place from addiction to recovery. Often an uncomfortable subject, I strive to dismantle assumptions and break down barriers to initiate truthful and constructive dialogue.
Silkscreen on found fabric, 32 × 24 in.
Silkscreen on found fabric, 33 × 24 in.
Woodcut and embossment, 29½ × 43 in.