When I Close My Eyes

when-i-close-my-eyes-holly-wilson
When I Close My Eyes

When I Close My Eyes

2018, 36″ x 24″ x 4.5″, Crayola Crayon, Plex Glass, Birch Panel

When I close my eyes and dream I do not see the color of my skin or limitations that have been placed upon me because of who I am or where I come from, I dream of all the possibilities of all the amazing things I can achieve.

While getting my children ready for school we were pulling together pencils, folders, colored pencils, and crayons. They had to have 4 sets of 24 crayons each and we had leftovers from sets of the past years, some colors had never been used, and we were combining them together so we’d know how many new boxes would be required. The kids were talking about their friends at the new school and friends of their past school. In the conversation, they were describing the children “the girl with the yellow hair, the boy with the brown skin”, in a very casual descriptive manner with no malice to the differences. This made me think more about how we see people and how one is judged. The smell of the crayons, the vivid colors, and the thoughts of my youth brought me to this crayon project. How we change in our viewpoints of people, and how we judge people based on race and color. We are all one below that surface, that surface of the skin, no matter the color, the shape, or the origin.

SOLD Through the Studio 

In the Collection of Travois, Kansas City, MO 

Exhibition History

  • Below The Surface, Travois, 310 W. 19th Terrace Kansas City, MO 64108
  • Native American Contemporary, Spiva Center for the Arts, Joplin, M0 (Jan 5- Mar 3, 2018)

when-i-close-my-eyes-holly-wilson

when-i-close-my-eyes-holly-wilson