Can We Connect in a World Where We're All Afraid of Each Other?

In today's ever-changing cultural landscape, the term "woke" has emerged as a topic of intense debate and discussion. While it represents a commendable drive toward social awareness, inclusivity, and activism, it also brings about a set of concerns that merit consideration.

These works explore the theme of social anxiety and the difficulty we face in connecting with each other in today's world. The series is made up of two parts: Limited Edition Prints and Video Projections.

This collection delves into the intricate dynamics of human interaction by visualizing the emotional fortifications we construct between ourselves and others. In our world, we often fear the pain of rejection or the potential for emotional injury, leading us to build walls as protective measures. These walls, however, serve a dual purpose – safeguarding us from hurt while simultaneously hindering us from forging profound connections with our fellow human beings. The spikes represent the barriers we put up between ourselves and others. They are a vivid representation of our contemporary human experience. I chose to depict the human as spikes which resembles a sense of tension and fragility in our interactions.

We are all afraid of being hurt or rejected, so we build walls around ourselves to protect ourselves. But these walls also prevent us from connecting with others on a deeper level. The dance represents the way we interact with each other in society. We are all constantly moving and changing, and it can be difficult to find our place. We may feel like we are out of step with everyone else, or that we don't belong.

In a world where political correctness often dominates, my artworks remind us of the delicate art of human connection. They encourage us to approach one another with empathy and understanding, recognizing that the shared dance of our differences and uncertainties enriches our society and makes it all the more vibrant. The dance of spikes is, in a way, a celebration of our human complexity, and my hope is that it will spark conversations about our society's ever-evolving landscape of communication and connection and where we must navigate a careful dance, always aware of the spikes beneath the surface of our words and actions.

As the emotional spikes emanate from this character and move in all directions, they manifest the multitude of ways in which our internal emotional barriers can extend outward. Each spike mirrors a different facet of the protective walls we build around ourselves, ready to respond to any potential threat or perceived vulnerability.

I created this series of artworks to start a conversation about social anxiety and the importance of connection. I hope that my work will resonate with people who have felt the pain of isolation and the longing for belonging.