NDigitalized

 

For my final piece, I wanted to paint the Golden Dome (perhaps because I was feeling quite sentimental as a graduating senior!). In the past year, the pandemic has completely changed the way we experience Notre Dame. I ultimately decided to portray an experience that could be characterized as isolating yet shared. 

To represent our switch to virtual learning, I pixelated a picture of the dome and overlaid it with a silhouette of an individual working on a laptop. Blended into the blue sky is a surgical mask- something that we are all tired of seeing, I'm sure, but has nonetheless helped the world through this pandemic. Finally, the petri dish encapsulating the person symbolizes the bubble of isolation the virus has forced on us during this difficult year. 

Despite the bleakness in the symbolism behind this painting, I think it is important to acknowledge the changes in the past year and recognize that we were not alone in our digital experience. As more people receive the vaccine, I am thrilled that we are on the path back to normalcy, and hopefully the narrative depicted in this painting will soon only be a memory of the past. I really enjoyed Painting I this semester! I'm sad that we couldn't meet for class as a whole, but I'm excited to see all of your lovely pieces!