Student Invitational

Chaffey College and the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art proudly present Student Invitational 2021, the 44th annual juried exhibition featuring Chaffey College student artists. In this rigorous program, the selected artists work closely with faculty, the museum curators and staff, and other art professionals to create a new body of work.

Guide

Gallery

Videos

babyparts, Digital Remains, TRT: 00:42
Dez DLT, The Visitor, TRT: 01:46
Nicholas Del Rosario, Ephemeral, TRT: 00:18
Zack Gibson, Memento Assemblage, TRT: 00:45

Statements

babyparts

www.digital-remains.com
What would you like to happen with your social media profile when you die?

Vincent Blair

As a young Black man that experiences the division between different ethnicities and cultures in America in real life and in the media, I feel driven to create work that expresses my desire for people to show more unity and love.

Dez DLT

The Visitor is a short claymation inspired by the cabin fever of the early days of quarantine. Although I’ve always known I was an introvert, COVID-19 restrictions have made me realize that I enjoyed socializing much more than I had thought. Like the character in The Visitor, I find myself ingesting brain numbing content in the privacy of my studio and avoiding the dangers of the outside world. This work aims to mimic the monotony of the past year; it emphasizes the slow and unnerving passage of time, questions the safety of the present, and expresses uncertainty of the future. Aside from recording a personal experience, The Visitor is my addition to the ever-growing black hole of brain-numbing content that we can all distract ourselves with when reality is a little bit too scary.

Nicholas Del Rosario

My piece is a tribute to the victims of this virus that had their livelihoods shortened as a result of negligent actions from the American government and the general populous. Every person who chooses not to wear a mask, not to quarantine, and not to follow government mandated regulations and guidelines were responsible for a digit at the end of this receipt. All life is temporary. People will continue to die, regardless of whether there is a pandemic, but to gamble with a life that is not one’s own is reprehensible. Every number on the death toll is more than just a statistical number; it is a life that shouldn’t have been taken for granted. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for the 2,886,586 individuals who don’t get a second chance.

Jennifer Escobar

In mid-2020, I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, a disorder that caused the left side of my face to be temporarily paralyzed. After weeks of recovery, I still suffered from lingering side effects of burning sensations and sharp pains pulsating underneath my skin. This painting is a reminder to myself that I’m not as weak as I think I am. In fact, I chose to make Self-Portrait on a 24 x 30 inch canvas as a chance to document the difficult and terrifying experience. In sharing my experience, perhaps I can bring some awareness to this disorder.

Amanuel Getachew

In the piece Idea/Identity, I wanted to honor the countless innocent men, women and children who’ve lost lives, homes and livelihoods in the current and ongoing conflicts that are happening all over my home country, Ethiopia.

Zack Gibson

All human relationships, whether they are platonic, romantic, or familial, will come to an end. As our relationships die, so do past versions of ourselves. I struggle to accept the fact that nothing is forever, and I want to reflect that in my art. My piece Memento Assemblage is a documentation of my expired relationships. This piece suggests that death, both metaphorically and literally, is inevitable for everyone and everything.

André José Holguin

Through the frames of a photograph, and deciding what to include and what to exclude, I can create a scene for viewers to ponder. The idea that I can make people fixate on something by framing it in a photograph interests me, and hence why I have chosen it as a chief concern for my project. I am drawn toward the sense of a calming human presence in these images - this sense that someone is there or has been there - and how it is communicated without the clear visible presence of any human being.

Zoe Kihm

As I work to understand the world around me, I have begun with the process of self-reflection. I wanted to add to the conversation of self-acceptance, and through using mirrors as a medium I encourage the process of self-reflection as a participatory event. With primary colors as my palette and emphasis on prominent parts of my body, I root my message in the theme of the fundamentals, and invite contemplation over how you define your fundamental self in the process.

C. M. Lee

What kind of people are needed to make society function? What is the role of individuals in a larger society? These model-sized sculptures suggest how individuals with different perspectives might collaborate in a balancing act to sustain their fabricated community.

Christy Anne Mora

I use art to keep the past from stealing my future. In my exploration of different types of art, I discovered my passion for making sculptures out of interesting materials. I started out with clay and expanded into multiple mediums including paint, recycled and manufactured materials, and anything I could get my hands on. For me, it is a freeing experience to play with different materials and to manipulate them to express my point of view.

Marie Amanda Nickey

The set of eight posters presents four main characters and four central locations from my original novel Commission War. Begun thirteen years ago, Commission War tells the story of two opposing World War I spies involved in a world chase and race against time. Through the use of a time machine, they accidentally involve two teenagers from the present, who also join their cause and chase.

Alexus Elaine Raisty

My art is inspired by the nightmares of my own dark, twisted childhood. It is like me; it is cute until you see what is underneath - the dark truth of trauma and the ugly judgment I feel from the world. I use its adorability like candy as a deliberate tactic to lure in viewers. Though the images are cute, chibi-style, anime characters, they are not meant to be merely attractive, but also political so they can bluntly confront and address the horrific pain of physical, verbal and sexual abuse. I feel that the world we live in needs to start protecting children, not the abusers. I hope that this work inspires you to advocate for children by supporting the #MeToo movement, Bikers Against Child Abuse (B.A.C.A) and other organizations that stand up against child abuse.

 

Virtual Reception & Walk-Through