ArtWise Gallery & Creation Space
February 2nd - March 18th, 2023
Paige Synnott & Wesley Rabey
Artists reception; Thursday February 2nd
5 - 7 pm
Paige Synnott
I Am
I am a photographer, artist, and young adult navigating the world. I have been taking photos since I was capable, but really started getting photography in 2016 and by the end of 2018 I was using myself as my subject. My photography tells a beautiful story about my self identity. It shows the magnificent process of how I’ve grown into the person I am today and how the story will keep growing through my photography. My creation of self portraits was to help myself understand what I was going through and to inspire myself to keep moving forward. Photography and the process of editing photos is a way of coping when I struggle with identity issues and often will light a fire inside me, that sparks positive energy inside me. I enjoy photography for myself, but I also have realized what I’m doing and what I portray in my self portraits are things that everyone struggles with. Which is why I’m inspired to share my art now, to be able to better develop my photography. I am nowhere near understanding myself or my identity perfectly, but who is. What I have done is find a beautiful side of myself that I want to share. I hope to engage you through my photography and the struggles I’ve had in discovering myself, but also the joys and added difficulties I’ve had when coming to understand the truest form of myself I have been able to find thus far. This show is all about everything I’ve thought of myself, or been told, things that have all come to make me who I am today.
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-Paige Synnott
Wesley Rabey
Fringes
I view myself as an arranger of the elements of design and a practitioner of current modeling, mold making, and casting techniques. My artwork is primarily figurative with an emphasis in contemporary pathos. I use silicon bronze as a medium and prefer this alloy to address universal themes. I like the contrast this semi-precious metal makes while leaning into darker imagery, which I tend to gravitate towards. I believe this allows for a Eureka Moment due to certain expectations associated with a traditional material. My goal is to approach subject matter in unconventional ways that hopefully challenge the viewer to question the artwork's content. I think sculpture needs to have an edge in order to contend with the plethora of attention-span-grabbing media and to stay relevant in these modern times.
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-Wes Rabey