Allison Davis

COVID threw a loop in everyones plans, often for the worst, but working around COVID guidelines for this exhibition actually provided an incredible opportunity for me. Normally with a BA portfolio I'd have access to a small corner of space to display my work along side my fellow classmates, but since we were not going to have a group exhibition as normal, I had the opportunity to take up as much space as I wanted. And boy did I take advantage of that. Primarily making these pieces during the second half of the Fall 2020 semester I was able to produce enough work at a large enough scale that my portfolio filled up the largest room in the CEAM. It's something I'm incredibly proud of and I truly enjoyed every moment of making and displaying this work. This post includes my artist statement along with photos of each piece as well as a link to a video displaying details of some pieces with my commentary about the process and content of the exhibition. Video Link Artist Statement...

With portraits of George Floyd, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Breonna Taylor, this currently untitled quilt is a personal meditation on the deep-rooted injustice and racism in America, as well as a memorial to those victimized by America’s refusal to right the wrongs of those who came before us. Primarily focused on corrupt leadership and systems of policing, this quilt addresses only a fraction of the consequences resulting from maintaining flawed systems. For political and historical context it is important to note a few things. First, the system of policing in America was started in order to capture runaway slaves and later to enforce Jim Crow laws. While no longer explicitly targeting black and brown communities, the police force has retained the violence and white supremacy it was founded on. The second thing to note is the Geneva Convention bans the use of tear gas in warfare, but it is still permitted for use to disperse riots in America. On June 2nd, 2020 President Trump allowed...

This collection of pieces combines illustration with three-dimensional objects. Two glass bottles and a flower pot, all covered in fabric, serve as the canvas for natural imagery alluding to life, death, and the process of decay. The bottles and flower pot are items often found broken and abandoned. But even abandoned in nature, these items will not decay; however, the fabric covering them will. By juxtaposing the permanence of the work’s materiality with the temporal nature of the imagery present throughout, a series of romanticized memento mori are created. Return to the Dirt 2.5" x 5" Ex Nihilo 3" x 6.5" Carrion 3.5" x 4" I took several objects from around my house, cut small pieces of fabric, and used glue and varnish to cover the objects in fabric. The yellow cup was the first attempt, and I ended up not using it for a final piece because it was too small.

No Justice 51" x 11" Fabric No Peace 51" x 11" Fabric Call It What It Is 13.5" x 18" Gesso on Fabric Unititled 11" x 15" Gesso on Fabric Work in progress photos for these two pieces. I got into the zone while working on the banners and totally forgot to take any progress photos. I finally pieced together nearly all of the quilt, I just have two gaps to fill in. For the next assignment I think I'm going to move away from this and begin a new project since I feel like theres not much more to add to the quilt design.

All pieces are approximately 13" x 18" and Gesso on Fabric George Floyd Tamir Rice Breonna Taylor Eric Garner I began by taking photos of each person and using Illustrator to block out the design. Next I printed out those Illustrator images and cut them out to act as a template for the next step. I used white pencil to trace the outlines and then filled them in with gesso. It took about two coats to get an opaque coverage. Before adding the patched border to each piece here are photos of some layout planning for the finished quilt.