Emily Potts

University of North Texas

OG, 2017
oil, charcoal, and wood on plywood, 47 x 19 inches

Tell us about the work that you have submitted.
This work is titled OG, as it was the first in a series of wooden portraits representing different personas of the human experience. These portraits each symbolized a part of the subconscious, or how an individual sees itself, that I believe in one way or another exist in everyone. The facial expressions in these figures allude to being lost in a moment of contradiction or deadlock, indicative of a personality affected and maybe even limited by its own self.

How would you describe your studio practice?
I never really go in with a specific idea of how a piece should be. I am most interested in allowing the piece to be open to change and resolving itself. Because I am interested in psychology and particularly in subconscious/conscious deadlock, my practice is guided mostly by intuition and the conversation between myself, the piece, and a part of myself I tend to filter.

With the pandemic forcing the world to rethink how we keep moving forward, do you feel encouraged or inspired in your own studio practice to persevere despite these challenges?
It is a very strange time we are living in right now, and I personally feel that the tension that has been building is best explored through art. For me, fear and anxious energy breed creative impulse. In a time where everything feels so uncertain, art and connecting to others through common experience seems like the best way to make sense of the world. This time is unique in that it is affecting everyone; no one is immune to the consequences of this virus, which allows us all an opportunity to connect and relate in a very intimate way.

Website: www.emilypottsart.com
Instagram: @freespiral_