BRAWLER ART - Olivia Baldacci
crash
ethel
Artist Statement
As a collage and mixed media artist, my practice revolves around the intersection of identity and media. Central to my artistic inquiry is the exploration of how media narratives intricately shape our perceptions of identity, perpetuating stereotypes, and rigid societal roles. I find collage to be the perfect medium for this exploration, as it enables me to manipulate real-world imagery, which often serves as a vehicle for the construction and reinforcement of norms.
Through the physical act of stripping and reshaping these images, I engage in a process of interrogation, challenging the entrenched notions and ideologies they represent. My work is driven by a desire to derive meaning from the constant influx of images inundating our visual landscape, while also aiming to facilitate a process of collective deconstruction for viewers. By dissecting these seemingly mundane images, which hold significant power over our understanding of the world, I aim to provoke critical reflection and a more nuanced understanding of identity dynamics in contemporary society.
Olivia Baldacci
Olivia Baldacci (she/they) is a mixed-media artist based in New York. She is interested in exploring how media helps form our cultural norms, specifically our conceptions of identity in her work. Collage is her ideal format for this exploration as it utilizes real-world imagery that is intended to construct and reinforce norms. It allows her to interrogate these notions through the physical stripping and reshaping of images. Their work is intended to make some meaning from a constant influx of images and ideally help others deconstruct these seemingly mundane images, which wield power over our understanding of the world.
Why we loved these:
Why Martheaus and Taylor Loved It: I'm proud to say we're starting to collect a lot of stunning art at BRAWL, especially collage work, and your two pieces will continue that tradition. I'm so drawn to these two pieces because they strike me like visual poetry. They're stunning with color, with surreal messaging, and with how they push possibility. Looking at "crash," I'm blown away by how the body of the vehicle stretches and incorporates different inclusions of policing--seeing the riot gear extend unto the hood and door of the car. I have a lot to say, but what gets me most is how color focuses in on the screaming bearded person in the center; their sheer terror--the brightness of their face--contrasts so strongly with the bleakness of the machine. "ethel" goes a different direction, obscuring the focus of the face with texture and a not-quickly-placable location. That piece makes me reflect on how we access strangers--the eye doesn't have an easy place to rest in that one (to me) so I find myself enjoying wondering around the subject completely. I really don't know a lot about art, but it was a real joy to get this in our inbox, and I think our readers will appreciate seeing it.