Elaina Perez is an artist from Macon, Georgia and she will receive her BFA from Georgia College and State University in May. She plans on continuing a career within art after she graduates. She’s currently helping illustrate a children’s book with the Life Enrichment Center. She works with various mediums, with a preference for acrylic paint and watercolor. Currently based in Milledgeville, she’s working on her degree while building her portfolio.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Touch is a multifaceted aspect of human experience, eliciting a spectrum of sensations from joy to repulsion. Within our social fabric, we carve out personal boundaries, delineating spaces of engagement and separation. My artistic journey delves into this interplay, exploring the nuances of touch and its impact on our lives.
Inspired by the primal expressions found in cave art, I delve into the depths of human emotion, particularly the juxtaposition of pleasure and disgust. As someone who navigates a complex relationship with touch, I’m fascinated by its power to evoke visceral responses, from tears of joy to fits of rage. By confronting discomfort, viewers are invited to transcend their fears and embrace the potential for profound connection and understanding.
project statement
This structure seeks to create a work that can blanket the viewers and build a community that experiences a shared sensation of comfort and disgust. Using tactile materials, I encourage viewers to touch and walk through my work, creating an awareness of their own body. With inspirations from artists like Louise Bourgeois, I chose to use materials that are heavy with texture and color within their work. I use mixed media to explore visual tactility and the sensitivities of touch while creating a want for distance in my viewers. My research focuses on the abstracted human body as a way to center the primordial feelings of disgust and pleasure.
