Now a Peaceful Oasis (2017)

Material: Graphite

Surface: illustration board

A couple of things were the driving force behind this work, specifically in reference to Dan Bell. Bell is a photographer who’s known for documenting abandoned places such as large malls & big box stores. This aspect of Bell’s career was really impactful, his photography and videography work elude a both unsettling yet welcoming energy to them. They emit a strong sense of nostalgia in a very desolate and isolating way. There was also the Talking head’s album “Naked” and their song “Nothing But Flowers”, which was a song talking about man’s attachment to fossil fuels and industrialization. In many instances of the song, the band creates this scene of abandoned gas stations now covered in vegetation. The actual location was an abandoned pizza hut, the building is still standing as of writing (2023). It was a very nostalgic place for myself, it was very close to the house where we lived. It was also a place where I spent a decent amount of time with my father. We also for some odd reason had a field trip there where young under 14 year old kids had the opportunity to make their own pizzas. It was such an odd area tied to really odd events with such a strong sense of belonging to me, many of my memories had  his building present. But it has now become dilapidated, overgrown and abandoned yet despite that, for myself, it feels extremely welcoming and warm. 

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I wanted to combine all of these aspects and ideas, and get it marked on paper.

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