Jenna Billica: capstone

2017 Spring.Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.The artist's statement: The focus of my current series of art is sources of my experiences with social anxiety. My works have centered on anxiety for the last two years and it remains of interest to me as it continues to be a presence in my life. Anxiety is incredibly common and it is often talked about. However, there is a stigma around anxiety that is seen among people who don't experience anxiety, particularly social anxiety, who don't understand the severity of the disorder. There are many people who believe it is just over reacting, or that anxieties are something that can easily be willed away with a changed point of view. I want to use my works to show these people and anyone who doesn't experience an anxiety disorder that it is a constant discomfort with things that shouldn't be an issue. I also aim for my works to be relatable images for others with similar experiences to my own so that they can not only see that it really is a shared experience, but also to show that there is another way of communicating the issue. Throughout middle school and high school, I had no way to communicate the types of problems that anxiety caused for me or what things caused my anxiety to be a problem. I am using this series of works to finally explain the things that I couldn't before, as I now understand my own anxiety. I create images of my own discomfort in a figurative manner, but without literal interpretation. This is so that the images are immediately recognizable on a human level and so that the distortions of the image are glaringly obvious to the viewer. They are meant to provide the viewer with the sense of negativity I associate with parts of an everyday life, such as speaking or physical contact, in hopes that they will understand my experience