Title
Creation Date
2017
Preview
Medium
clay and string
Description
This piece is part of a large work entitled Gathering Truths.
Rights
© Vivianne Marlene Siqueiros, 2017.
Exhibit Images
Keywords
ceramics, original art, installation
2017
clay and string
This piece is part of a large work entitled Gathering Truths.
© Vivianne Marlene Siqueiros, 2017.
ceramics, original art, installation
Artist Statement
Our country is bombarded with divisive headlines, articles, and videos through social platforms due to our current political climate, creating a tense and numbing atmosphere. Strong opinions are shared whether they are welcomed or not. I have had a difficult time finding my own voice amidst the chaos. My question here is: Where is the truth? What source determines what is right or wrong? While some turn to the bible, MSNBC, or a tweet, others turn to science, Fox News, or a testimonial. This work encompasses the desire to find the truth by sparking conversation with people from all sorts of backgrounds, ages, and viewpoints.
In the past weeks, I have been gathering truths from the community. By reaching out to Facebook, in-person discussions, and emailing people, I began receiving sources like All the Light We Cannot See, a book which resonated with someone’s belief that history is the accumulation of small moments and individual mindsets. I have received over one hundred truths, including religious passages, children’s books, song lyrics, testimonials, and much more that people truly believe in. These sources were linked to a small object representing the diversity in the responses I received. To take the above example, the ISBN number of the book is typed on the backside of an object. During the time it is presented in the gallery, viewers may collect these “truths” with their own source of truth or someone else’s source on the backside.
The process of gathering truths quickly became a social network composed of people I knew and strangers that found my search through shared emails or Facebook posts. Many of the sources I received included intimate details of why they believe their source is true, while others were only composed of a few words. Ultimately, the truths I gathered help me find a communal voice with the people I have connected with.