FICTION

Artist Statement

The objects we favor give us gravity. They give us grounding; they give us context. Our objects tell our human story.  

The way we handle our objects and the way we see our objects informs the we write our stories. These heirlooms give us security and connection. The way an object can teleport us to our precious moments is unlike any other attachment we have to our time on this earth.  Objects remind us of the places from which we came, the people from which we came and the stories we hold.  Life changes, social influences, and the behavior of others can completely alter our attitude toward an object, giving the relics even greater life significance.

An everyday object can hold such gravity, such sentiment, such significance, we view it as an extension of ourselves.  This is why still life continues to be one of the most accessible genres of artistic expression, and why it is a powerful storytelling tool.

In the series FICTION, artist A. Lummus relives a disturbing chapter of the past by rewriting the ending, using still life as the vehicle for the journey.

These still lifes are visually described in a monotone palette using black and white colored pencil on toned paper.  This palette allows the viewer to eradicate their personal perceptions of color and turn their complete focus onto the object. Without local color, the viewer understands their appreciation or aversion is based on their own narrative.  

Lummus urges the viewer to confront their own feelings and intentions toward the described objects with a storyline full of revenge and humor.  The title of each still life gives the viewer a small piece of Lummus’s story, while the image connects the viewer to their own story.

The series challenges the viewer to laugh, to reminisce and to relate. Cheeky humor and a readable grayscale tells the story of the strength found in change.  It is the viewer's prerogative to further understand their own history or fiction and their relationships to objects therein.

      -A.L. Lummus