Artists Statement: Lukas Drysdale

Throughout my life, I have struggled with overstimulation from various senses, such as noise, touch, sight, etc. As I’ve gotten older, I have begun to learn to live with it, though it is still ever present in my life and how I process the environment around me. My work explores these experiences and how they affect the way I move through life. In order to dig deeper into my thesis, I began to pose questions that each piece and my overall body of work strives to answer. I asked myself how I could visually represent what it feels like to be overstimulated, but first, I had to understand how it felt. I found this to be especially difficult as I have a lot of trouble with communication. 

I’ve always had an interest in the body, the way it works, and the way it looks. I was strictly a figure painter for a while, but this soon felt limiting and I tried my best to get as far away from the figure as possible. I then found myself confined within yet another box. My work became much more abstracted as two-dimensional repetitive geometric shapes turned into sculptures and installations. I pushed myself to create work that was not “too on the nose,” but soon found my work getting a bit away from me. My use of garments allows me to discuss the figure within my work, while simultaneously including a form of interactivity. 

I often have many small, tediously, and meticulously made pieces that work together to create the larger whole. The idea of buildup, and many into one, is fundamental in my process and practice. I use buildup as a metaphor to express how it feels during the experience.  

Creating larger pieces allows me to break away from stationary artmaking and make room for the pieces to change, move around, and stay alive. There is power in being able to hold an object in hand and experience it from all angles. Bringing people in to interact with the piece, whether it be to wear it, alter it, or play with it, allows me to better communicate with the viewer. 

I use a variety of media to help to express my complex relationship with overstimulation. I am drawn to ceramics, printmaking, and fibers. I like to contrast my pieces with hard materials such as ceramics, and softer materials like yarn, or fabric. I enjoy using materials that sometimes contradict the intention or purpose of the piece. I often reuse materials and motifs, allowing my pieces to build off each other. I create work that is taking one and making it many. I use metaphors relative to my life to generalize these experiences to the viewer. 

I have used many metaphors like squares, bowls, bowling pins, and barnacles to create systems and repetitive patterns. 

My thesis is an exploration of my experiences with overstimulating and overwhelming situations throughout my life. I believe that everyone carries both physical and emotional baggage. This baggage that I find myself carrying around has neither a positive nor negative connotation. 

The overstimulation in my life is one of the causes of my fear of being unprepared. This has resulted in me carrying everything around with me. My work has been influenced by the physical baggage I currently carry. I find my overstuffed backpack of “extra preparedness” coming with me everywhere I go. 

Through all of this, the easiest way I have found to describe this experience is that it is both physically and emotionally taxing. It makes it difficult to move and communicate with those around me. It feels like something is taking over and there is not much you can do to stop it.