Tonya Anderson

Bleach is toxic, yet is used to clean. During a period in my undergraduate studies, I had developed a liking for using bleach as a drawing medium and it has evolved. Not only aesthetically, but as an underlying statement of the yin and yang aspect of humanity. I use bleach in drawings in order to clean the pigment of the paper, yet focus on the toxic nature of the bleach on paper. Unsure of the archival nature of the medium, I found that to be another metaphor for the ephemeral.

During my current MFA studies at Western Carolina University, my drawings and prints with the bleach gel medium have evolved into more abstract tests and are formal in nature; lines, blobs, mixes with walnut ink. All of these tests are meant to provoke the viewer to ask why this particular process. The bleach is attempting to highlight the parallel between the nature of the paper and violation in thereof. Only now have I come to realize that this is a key point in all of my works of art, the desecration of nature throughout human existence. Yet, there is beauty in the toxicity of humanity.

Many of my current projects are my cathartic reaction to alcoholism and drug abuse by others around me. The only serenity I can obtain through my own personal chaos is by creating. My artistic journey is a reflection of my ability to deal with affliction.

With eye see you see me see you, the artwork represents the acknowledgment of the disconnection between individuals. No one can actually see one another because we exist only as surfaces and cannot exist as that other person. The multiple printed (surface) individualized eyeballs represent the commodification of people and the defilement of our own connection with each other, the loss of connection between souls.

Most recently, I created the 'Safe Zone' print series as purification for the mapped area using 12 formal intuitive reflections of the 12 steps and wheat-pasted them across the U.S. I hit GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, AR, TN, and NC, creating a safe zone for my family and friends who have dealt with or are currently dealing with addiction. At first, I had questioned myself about why I did not include my mother in the safe zone. Shouldn’t she be in the safe zone? I have not realized until after I had completed the zone, that it was not my choice to make. My mother made the choice when she chose alcohol and drugs over her kids. Universally, human will overrides all natural instincts. Even through the darkness, I can bring light and healing into the world through my artwork. Sharing the experience with others is key for me as an artist and is why I have experimented outside of the gallery setting. Any marketable drawing or print I make will be in order to create projects that are for the people.