B812
Inkjet image transfer, cardboard, conte crayon, acrylic paint, clear plastic, ink
Memory is fluid and can completely change or be viewed in a different light as a result of other factors. My first car, a blue Ford Ranger, was totaled in Spring 2021. In the resulting nightmare process of insurance and repairs, my view of this vehicle has changed. I can not help but see all of my great memories hanging out in the back, hauling dirt bikes, and camping in my truck through the lens of the accident. The accident did not spoil these memories, but made them seem that much sweeter because they are now out of my grasp.
To translate these feelings into an art project, I visualized an important memory of my truck through the frame of the license plate of the vehicle that totaled it. I reconstructed my memory of decorating my truck with tons of balloons for a friend’s birthday through inkjet image transfers of my truck and balloons layered onto cardboard. This happy, bright scene is framed by the stark black license plate of the other car made out of cardboard, clear plastic, and ink drawings. The half license plate, only half to protect privacy, overlaps and surrounds my image transfer memory which demonstrates the accident’s ability to alter my view of the past. The finished piece came about through countless image transfer experiments and later embellishments with conte crayon and paint brush blending.
