Artist Statement
How has procrastination disturbed the routines of your ideal self? The dictionary term for procrastination is the action of postponing something to avoid stressful tasks by distracting oneself with other minor works.
As a student, the closer deadlines approach, the more anxious I become, and in turn, the overwhelming stress makes it difficult to work. Utilizing my stress and anxiety, I create artwork to become a more productive human being. I find satisfaction in the completion of artistic endeavors. My work shows the process of procrastination by portraying the duration of anxiety and the aftermath of regret. I explore the different emotional dimensions of procrastination. Although I work in a variety of disciplines, digital media helps set a direct connection between procrastination and digital distractions, such as social media. Most of my day is spent through digital experiences instead of completing concrete assignments and meeting deadlines. Even if the viewers of my work are not chronic procrastinators, they could relate to the struggle inherent in bringing anything to completion.
My series of three self-portraits showcases the steps of my expression on stress and overwhelming emotions. Portrait one titled, Work? Never heard of her, has a pile of unopened books looming in the background of the figure, creating a sense of dread and an overwhelming workload. This is how I feel most of my time as a student and in general day to day life. The crippling anxiety is slowly consuming me as the deadlines approach but do I begin working on my 27 drawings that need to be completed by next Monday? No. Portrait two titled, Nothing But A Broken Machine, contains the image of smoke escaping the top of my head, my brain as a machine has been overworked and is now broken. The emotional ride of classwork and academics often brings me to this state of combustion. Portrait three titled, I Can Now Peacefully Die, shows the final stages of turning in that last assignment as a representation of me having completed all of my work. At least the deadline has passed, and there is no going back, so why worry about it now? The feeling of being done with everything feels like erasing all the tabs open in windows; finally, I can die peacefully.
Please don’t procrastinate, don’t be like Selim Choi, now you know the aftermath and the harm it brings to both your body and your mental state.
