Cullen Washington Jr - Heroes' Story
Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting
The subject of this work is rooted in the collective unconscious. It depicts man’s and woman’s eternal quest to strive for higher ideals. It is the struggle with external and internal contradictions that connects us all. In this investigation, I have chosen the story of the hero to address these universal themes. Like the works of Hanna Hoch, I create allegorical satires featuring heroic archetypes from pop culture and my childhood. The hero’s triumphs over social injustices take place within urban landscapes and the psychic scape of my memory. To conjure the narratives and environments aesthetically, I have chosen the disciplines of photomontage, collage, drawing and painting. Urban debris, charcoal drawings and photo references from my hometown are injected onto the pictorial surface to bring forth a presence of grit, fantasy and memory. Unstretched canvas serves as the substrate to support the rigorous application of materials as I create not only with my hand but also with my body.