ARTIST STATEMENT

This collection was inspired by our past memories and our sweet dreams. I used a girl as my main subject and storyteller. She is loyal, strong, able to rise above defeat, and to overcome any adversity that comes her way. With this collection I am trying to answer two key questions. How much do we change when we grow up? How can we overcome our inner darkness?

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

This collection explores the concept of an inner child as proposed by psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. The child archetype, in Jungian theory, can be a way of helping us connect to the past, as we recollect our experiences and emotions as a child. This term is now used widely as a concept to explore our challenges growing up and developing our personalities.

 In Jung’s use of the term, the inner child stays within us and it has a massive impact on how we interact with the outside world. In most of the artworks in this collection, the artist used a symbolic reference to Micky – a Walt Disney cartoon character – to stress the spirit of the inner child each of her represented female figures has. Their faces are very abstract – almost faceless; thus, the artist invites the viewer to recollect their childhood memories and experiences, give voice to real feelings, and envision themselves as those playful, fearless, and open-to-the-adventures girls.

 Through this exercise, you are invited to stop, notice, and listen to your inner child, think about your true nature, and treat your innermost being with compassion and loving-kindness.

 -Liza Zhurkovskaya aka “Curator on the Go”