Schemata: Dissonance and Distortion was inspired by reflections on 2020 and 2021. These have been unique and volatile times, that can easily be used as case studies on human cognition, behavior, and society at large. Although many turbulent and important experiences have happened over the past few years, the prime inspiration to this body of work, was the deep rift in perspectives that became evident during the core of the pandemic, potentially climaxing during the attack on the capital. The whole world was dealing with the same virus, but they weren’t perceiving the same things.

Understanding another’s belief but still disagreeing, is one thing, while not being able to comprehend an opposition’s viewpoint, is another. This type of disconnect has become widespread across the country. When people cannot understand each other’s thought processes, compromise feels impossible, and both sides find it easier to conclude that the other is delusional or uninformed.

These topics are interrogated through text and visuals. Three 10 ft tall mixed media artworks use architectural spaces as armatures to examine different functions of the mind, including cognitive distortions, gender-schema, and self-schema.

The artworks in this exhibition collectively explore this divide by examining key mental processes that contribute to this disconnect. These are cognitive distortions, or errors in thinking, and schemata, the mind’s organizational systems.

These artworks merge photographs, fabric, paint, and collage together to create something new. A process that mirrors how the mind combines different experiences together to form our schema, memories, and perceptions.

Two stereogram artworks add to this dialogue. Stereograms are commonly known as “Magic Eye” images. They facilitate some, but not everyone, to perceive 3D visuals in 2D imagery. These pieces replicate the differences in perception existing in our society today. All viewers will be examining the same artworks, but not everyone will be experiencing the same thing.

Juncture (2021)

84 in X 53 in

Textile mounted on cradle - stereogram printed onto fabric

Maid, Mother, Mystic (2021)

42 in X 37 in

Textile mounted on cradle - 9 stereograms printed onto fabric