Artemis Sidikman - May 2018

I create art to understand and approach the realities of my life. My work is introspective and focuses on facets of myself such as gender identity, sexuality, and battles with mental illness. My hope is that by working through my own struggles, I can give a voice to an audience who understands and shares my experiences. I want to provoke conversations about my art to challenge preconceived notions of mental illness, what it means to be queer, and what it means to be normal.

I am interested in using my art as a platform to tell stories, whether they be in the literal sense of being written down or more figurative. I have worked in a comic format before and have enjoyed it but prefer a less traditional style of the media I use. I am passionate about using mixed media because I feel as if I can better express my thoughts or feelings if I’m not restricted to one way of working.

My ultimate goal is to get to a point in my career where I can support myself by displaying my work in galleries. This stage establishes my ability to share my passions with others and to know they are valued. Recognizing that this is not realistic directly out of school, I would like to have opportunities to build my resume and form relationships with other artists to bring me to that point.

I know that art is what I want to do with my life. Unlike anything else, it is what makes me feel centered and at peace with myself. I have struggled with anxiety and depression in the past and art has been a large part of my healing process. I cannot imagine myself doing anything else with my life and am fully prepared to take the critiques and hardships that come along with being an artist to allow myself to do what I truly love.