Toothy Gummi Bear
Acrylic and gouache on paper
8″ x 10″
Statement
Gummi bears represent sweetness, innocence, and whimsical moments in life. They always bring a smile to my face and somewhat of a toothache.
Faced with a juxtaposition in and of itself, I pose this question, “Why would a gummi bear have teeth?” Or does this ask us to question our own teeth?
Often teeth symbolize psychological undercurrents of distress and anxiety. Teeth are essential to our survival and, with that, subject to metaphor.
Power/powerlessness, inadequacy, embarrassment, communication, and status. Our toothy friend’s knowing smile might be trying to tell us something more.
Interpersonal relationships, textual translations, and pixelated information make up our evolving social normative models, mine being no different. I often search for patterns behind the process. Reflection, distortion, emotion litter my process with random synaptic firings like land mines, but it’s all a necessary means to connect the dots in my attempt to form a connection. I see it as this type of kaleidoscope where I examine the mundane day-to-day, where I find beauty in the banal or miserable. As a way of acceptance, rather than ignorance, then pushing past and moving beyond.
