Maxwell Place

Leo FischerArtist Statement SP24Last summer, as I was packing my things to move, I found a stack of family photo albums in the attic. I spent hours sitting on the floor of my bedroom going through every single photograph. Many of my memories from the first decade of my life are foggy, as losing a parent at a young age is difficult, and blocking out unpleasant memories is an unconscious, yet common way to cope. There were some things I didn’t recall at all until I was holding pictures of them in my hands. Maxwell Place is a collection of work based on the nostalgia I hold around my childhood. These hazy memories and missing pieces of my childhood inspired me to create a series of prints dedicated to the things I can't quite remember clearly.I use my screenprints to allow the viewer to see my memories in the same way I do. Screen printing allows me to incorporate my graphic design work as well as photographic and hand drawn elements into my pieces to create a narrative of my memories. To express these concepts in my pieces I play with opacity, layering, and abstract textures. I enjoy color blocking figures or backgrounds in my pieces, overlaying multiple images with varying transparencies, and incorporating handwritten typography into my pieces.Recently I’ve been finding inspiration from Hollis Brown Thornton, a painter and printmaker who works with concepts of morality by using old photos and personal objects in a pigment transfer process. Another one of my inspirations is Geloy Concepcion, a photographer who works with color blocking and text in his photos. Seeing their works influenced me to use hand written text in my prints and gave me the idea to use puff ink to add more texture to my pieces. Printing in non-traditional ways allows me to explore my concept in ways I hadn’t discovered before. Printing on pillows, lamp shades, and furniture allows me to create an immersive view into my memories by allowing the visitor to experience a recreation of my childhood living room.This exhibition is not only a narrative of my childhood, but a narrative of who I am now as an adult. Through my prints and installations I aspire to reach an audience that not only identifies with my art but also interprets it in their own unique ways. I hope the memories that I share with others remind them of their own forgotten memories.