“Looking in, looking out”

Laura Josephine Snyder

22 x 36”: Drawing/painting (Indigo watercolor, Palo de brazil watercolor and gouache on cotton paper)

ARTIST STATEMENT

This piece, Looking in, looking out, speaks to the windows and veils through which we experience the world. Our frames of perception, patterns and blinds, and what comes through and is registered, digested, from the inside, from the outside. This piece and my recent work in general imply a slowing down in order to inquire; what is a true movement or gesture?

This piece is made with natural indigo watercolor. Indigo is a pigment that has been used for centuries to dye cloth and by telling the history of indigo, we could tell the history of the world through trade and conquest. Indigo also invites us to question how value was and is bestowed and recognize the complex and interwoven processes of colonization and globalization.

Reminiscent of op-art, this drawing pushes against the precision and hard-edged perfection present in iconic op-art pieces, while still speaking to perception. The parallel snaking lines suggest window blinds, a veil coloring our vision or perception. The sensuous curved shapes they describe lean toward energetic vibrations and the female form. My body is present in the marks, the oils from my hands creating inconsistencies in the painted surface. These stains recall the traditional process of the extraction of indigo dye, still practiced in a few places, but mostly replaced by synthetic dyes.

This piece evokes a passage from one thought to the next, from one reality to another, raising questions about perception and connection. My interest in pigments stems from my interest in plural histories, process, community, and connection to place.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Laura Josephine Snyder is a visual artist currently living and working in Charlottesville, Virginia. In her work, she explores memory, time, and cognition through abstraction and an embodied practice. In her current work, she is delving into the study and application of natural pigments, their historical significance and their intrinsic reference to place.

To find more of her works, take a look at her Instagram (@laurajosephinesnyder) or her website.