OPENING RECEPTION: 6.05, 5-7PMARTIST GREETING: 5:05PMART HAPPENING COMMENCES: 5:15PMal-ien-a-tion: the state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved.
The Center for Contemporary Arts is proud to present MOTHERBOARDs, a surreal solo exhibition by local professional art installer and art handler, Jonah Eli Garcia.
An artist first, he has dedicated his professional life working with and studying within multiple galleries, learning the behind-the-scenes of curating and producing exhibitions. This exhibit will employ all the skills learned throughout his blossoming gallery career. The series kicks off with an opening reception & DJ set mixed by Garcia on Friday, June 5th at 5:00pm.
MOTHERBOARDs is a series designed to showcase the study of character design. How a world can be built from figurative art. The design elements within each figure provide an insight to what world these robot aliens are derived from. Personifications of precision. Sharp in mind and by design. The angular lines and geometric patterns translate to a calculated species from an advanced civilization. To transmit a message of exaggerated, ostracized otherworldliness. The fashion birthed this idea of a race of menacing robots that are initiated to invade planets draining each world of its color so only their outfits would glow with the most vibrant hues in all of the galaxy. Each figure is formed by the style of numerous fashion sketches. The style is expressive and each line is confident. Most drawings are quick and display the legs behind each other looking as if it were one. I honed in on this idea and designed the space robots’ legs to mimic a mermaid dress or the tail of a rocket ship. Like a fish swimming in water, MOTHERBOARDs are not bipedal and swim in space with a rocket thruster tail. Silhouettes were important in my conceptual choices. Meaning, if you black out each figure with just the shape left, you can be able to decipher which character it is. Dynamic diagonal lines were pivotal in creation. The more confident the brushstroke, the more striking the pose. Each figure demands to be seen. Most girls have an “M” motif in their chrome embellishments to tie into the title of the exhibition. Portraying these assertive femme figures has given me newfound self-assurance within my style.
MOTHERBOARDs were created through the lens of Camp. To give imagery to the feeling of being othered. Creating this evocative matriarchal alien race that celebrates the exaggerated. Flamboyancy is villainized in our society but exalted in theirs. In order to find style, you must find solitude. Creativity is born from a lack. Lack of acceptance has birthed originality. To invoke radical imagination with artistic autonomy. World-building character design has provided me with the nourishment of self-liberation. Alchemy accelerated in adversity. However, the cure for alienation is connection.