Naked Subconscious :
A figurative exploration of the heart in a landscape of Utopian expectations
Shakrah Yves: Selected paintings and costumes

Opening Reception: Friday 5/8 7-10
Closing Reception: Thursday 5/21 7-10
Gallery hours: 4/13-4/21, 11 am - 3 pm or by appointment

Artists Statement:
In a media and advertising saturated culture images must be vivid and extreme. The fantastical distortion of reality allows us to deal with the deep underlying problems that are hard to deal with or address in a straightforward way, on the conscious level. I use the landscape of imagination and fairy tale as a metaphorical stage for the analyzing and meditation of larger problems. Theatricality, falsity, exposes the possibility for a multi-layered perception of the world, and potential for expanded consciousness. What we experience day-to-day is but a shallow facade of the potential depth of experience of the world.

I use theatricality as a proscenium to frame the artifice with artifice. In Western colonial ideology enlightenment is acquired through Maslow's hierarchy of needs, only accessible form the top of the pyramid, through leisure. Through art that is multi layered, and contemplative, the viewer can experience a transcendent catharsis after the initial pleasure of art consumption has waned. Art has the potential to enliven a sense of responsibility in the audience; A responsibly to each other and the environment, to remind us to question how we define god and ourselves. Art can leave a positive footprint.

Through Painting, conceptual costume design, and performance I explore emotional and environmental devastation, created by dissolution of false hopes fueled by Utopian media idealism. In our post Regan-Bush skepticism and Obama idealism, I meditate on the landscape of the American psyche, at the cliché's that are the base of our shared optimistic and naive worldview.


About Shakrah:
Shakrah Yves is a local interdisciplinary artist working in painting, drawing, costume, fiber sculpture, performance and media. She has performed at the Brava theatre, ATA, and SFMOMA. Her experimental films and videos have screened locally and nationally. She attended and received awards and grants at CALARTS and CCA, where she recently completed her BFA in Media Arts in 2009.



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