Interview with Lauren Walke
In what ways does your piece “Agony” evoke the idea or theme of the New Human?
"Through adversity do great and terrible things grow" was a poem fragment that cycled around my mind as I created this piece. "Agony" depicts two women who, through suffering, are undergoing a transformation into something new, something evolved. This theme of undergoing a metamorphosis, becoming new humans, from difficult life experience is one many people can relate to, especially in 2020.
If you could share just one message or wish with all of humanity, what would it be?
We are more similar, more connected to each other than we allow ourselves to believe. This is something I've reflected on this year and it has brought me a larger amount of empathy for my community and the people in it. I can only imagine the change that would come if we all worked toward this goal of unity rather than trying to focus solely on our individual beliefs.
Who would you like to paint your portrait, artist past or present, and why?
A portrait is a very intimate study of the subject where the end result says at least as much about the artist and how they view the subject as the subject itself, if not more. While I have a list of artists I admire, I don't have a specific artist who I'd choose. I'm more interested in the experience and outcome of the process itself than narrowing it down to a specific artist.
"Through adversity do great and terrible things grow" was a poem fragment that cycled around my mind as I created this piece. "Agony" depicts two women who, through suffering, are undergoing a transformation into something new, something evolved. This theme of undergoing a metamorphosis, becoming new humans, from difficult life experience is one many people can relate to, especially in 2020.
If you could share just one message or wish with all of humanity, what would it be?
We are more similar, more connected to each other than we allow ourselves to believe. This is something I've reflected on this year and it has brought me a larger amount of empathy for my community and the people in it. I can only imagine the change that would come if we all worked toward this goal of unity rather than trying to focus solely on our individual beliefs.
Who would you like to paint your portrait, artist past or present, and why?
A portrait is a very intimate study of the subject where the end result says at least as much about the artist and how they view the subject as the subject itself, if not more. While I have a list of artists I admire, I don't have a specific artist who I'd choose. I'm more interested in the experience and outcome of the process itself than narrowing it down to a specific artist.
Cover Art Preview: "Agony"
©Lauren Walke
Lauren Walke, living in Roanoke, Virginia, is often inspired by local lore and dreams. Her work is created to live, breathe on its own, to tell its story boldly, and to entice the viewer to be a witness to the unexpected and fantastical. Lauren’s work is amplified and enhanced by her daily rituals of seeking for moments of magic in her life. When she isn’t working on illustration and story projects she can usually be found outside with her children and cat either looking for bees, bones, or other wild treasures to add to her magpie collection.