Art: ‘The Electronic Crucifixion’ by Kimberly Rojas

KIMBERLY ROJAS
The Electronic Crucifixion
2nd PLACE ART (TIE)
Mixed Media Installation
11th Grade, Ánimo Jackie Robinson
Guiding Teacher: Rachel Kopera

Kimberly Rojas: Artist Statement

I am trying to show how electronics create division between us. I try to show this by creating different depths between the canvases and having people scattered and mostly apart. I also wanted to show that we are the moths attracted to light (electronics). If you zoom into my piece, there are children and human parts dismembered by attaching themselves for too long onto the lights of the screen. Some are finding their way out, but for most humans, it is too late. They are pinned down to their screens. We are drawn to the light but that light can be turned off at any moment giving a false sense of warmth and comfort when we are really only being hurt and lied too. The machine ends our humanity like moths aflame. The red cross structure represents our endless cycle of suffering: a lifetime of bleeding at the hands of our devices.

The mannequin hands can be interpreted as our own lack of agency, and our choice to continuously burn our hands with the lights of screens. Additional materials I used to create my piece were acrylic paint, acrylic markers, broken computer parts, hot glue, wires, cut out cardboard portraits, spray paint, and lastly theatre lights- shedding light on what machines do to humans. I started by making thumbnails, getting feedback, and going to critiques. When I had a good idea of what I wanted I gathered various reference photos to bring my piece to life. I spray painted computer parts in gold to show the false luxury of tech. The gold circle of linked chrome books contrasts with the blue color palette to show the cyclical nature of humans crucified by technology. The bright contrasting red of the “hidden cross” heightens the attention we must give to the humans who are aflame.

From a design standpoint, I made converging lines with the mannequin hands, wires, and with the computer screens. To create unity, I limited my color pallet: only sticking to mostly cool tones with very little warm colors. I also created a regular and progressive rhythm by repeating tv screens, tech, hands, and lastly the cardboard cut out portraits. Originally, I envisioned having the different canvas panels torn apart inside of one large television screen, but with the use of theatre lights and a backdrop, I create a square world that is pulling human forms apart. The shadows on the backdrop underscore the repetitive cyclical nature of the problem. This central girl, being dismembered and thus crucified, by her need for tech, is not the only moth aflame. Many people are suffering due to the hands of big tech. On the red stage at the base of the cross I left a light shadow of gold spray paint, like a single clue left at a chrome scene.

I used tech parts in my artwork to bring my piece to life and draw in the viewer. I also feel like the integration of sharp tech bloodied pieces, juxtaposed with the curvature of the hands, will make this piece more powerful because computer pieces, keyboards, and phones are something we use everyday, unaware of the violent undercurrent that tech has on interrupting and severing our lives. Standing up against this problem is so important because it makes us realize how often we rely on technology. Computers deceive us by being helpful in the moment, but the repetitive use severs our free will and leads to our humanity falling apart, crucified, and aflame.