Kim White

I am interested in how “story” works in our experience of ourselves. We are inherent story makers in the sense that our experiences become stories when they move to memory. Once an experience has passed it becomes an echo of itself; either fading away if we don’t note it, or becoming a permanent part of the fabric of the perception of ourselves as we repeat the story, consciously or unconsciously. In my work I want to capture, not the specific details of a story, but rather what it feels like as all the pieces and complexities of a story are in motion within us. In these works on paper, I use water-based mixed media to explore a few different ways that we create story in our human experience.

Much as flower notes are brought to life in a perfume blend by “fecal” undertones (think Jasmine), I like to contrast bright color and joyful movement in my works with imagery that feels a little off or maybe uncomfortable. As we move through life trying to create happiness and peace, we struggle with anxieties, frustrations, traumas, secret fears and shames. I include these discomforts of existence in my work to bring light to them, not letting them fester in the dark. They are a part of life. As we open to these darker parts of our stories, releasing them to the day, we can better allow ourselves to enjoy our successes and pleasures.

BLACK GROUP – Subconscious Stories
Explores dreams, fears, unexamined stories, stories that run in the background of our awareness, shaping our experiences of ourselves and reality.

1. In the Dark 1
2. In the Dark 2
3. In the Dark 3

WHITE GROUP – Conscious Stories
Depicts the act of telling, expressing our story. Stories that we actively tell ourselves, or that we tell another, and that we constantly express and recycle as we move through our days.

4. Emergence (Self-talk)
5. Parade of One
6. Listen to Me

SILVER GROUP – Fairy Tales and War Games.
Compares and contrasts the stories of children’s worlds and grown-ups’ worlds.

7. Little Spirit
8. Neptune Picnic
9. Inner Conflicts
10. Holy Wars

TEAL GROUP – Stories for Fun and Entertainment
Sometimes stories are told for enjoyment, comic relief, or simply relaying random, strange, funny, or happy events.

11. Cornucopia
12. Beach Worm