Artists Statement: Rebecca Oh

August 28 - September 19

Not From Here is a collection of paintings that documented the last year as I navigated changes in my relationships, career, and home after a monumental move to the Midwest. As my larger practice often speaks on the feeling of otherness versus belonging, extricating myself from the familiar landscape of Virginia into the even more divisively homogenous Missouri required preplanned touchstones of personal reflection. It is easier to disassociate and turn inward in unknown territory, but Not From Here was my active stand against this and each painting is the byproduct of careful reflection.

Painting has always been a source of comfort and means to process past happenings. This series illustrates snapshots of the new spaces I now consider commonplace. While I initially appreciated the beauty in these spaces, I struggled with the immediate separation from my familial and cultural networks in the DMV alongside the widening disconnect between my old life and new. Not From Here shows the steady growth in mindset through the year with subtle changes in light, shadow, color, and clarity as metaphor of my active reconciliation with this. Prejudices against the Midwest and accompanying biases leaned towards a narrow-minded outlook at my Springfield arrival. As time passed, this misplaced grief gave way to cautious openness, longing, acceptance, and eventual deep-seated appreciation for my new home.

This past year has covered a multitude of discoveries.

Not From Here serves to show these learnings through the quiet moments.