Elizabeth Ferrill

The use of the stencil resonates deeply within my imagery, flickering between the beauty found in pattern and a kind of disorienting hypnotic representationalism. The vast solitude of the American landscape is the subject matter of my work, particularly places that seem cold but emotionally charged, dehumanizing yet full of personal experience. This includes empty public places that remain tensely suspended within a quiet moment between what has occurred in the past and what will occur in the future. Each overlay of shape and color responds to the simplified and functional architectural properties of border crossings, bus stops, motels and sidewalks. The stencil functions as a layer of mediation that implements a control system to my mark-making process. 

The subjects are all familiar yet under-examined peripheries of the American vista, with a focus on the harsh light and acrid mundanity of “anywhere USA.” The pieces exist as simplifications of the complex and paradoxical atmosphere of the public world.  I explore public spaces with a sincere quest for beauty while at the same time acknowledging their tension, functionality, and ability to inherently make a statement about our behavior as human beings.