In our daily lives, we embrace the unknown while maintaining a fear and discomfort with its ambiguity. I create spaces or alter environments to highlight the visual language that is used to instill a subconscious fear and uneasiness.

I am reinterpreting the current visual language of signs, symbols, and colors that are culturally recognizable as indications of fear. The visual language I observed has manifested itself in exploration of materials that are meant to protect or create a false elusion of security.

By altering the context of these symbols, the way the viewer interacts with these symbols changes. These symbols take on new meanings when the viewer’s attention is focused on elements we are all overexposed to in everyday life. Each work aims to objectify and challenge the viewer’s perception of fear and safety.

In the digital world that everyone is deeply embedded in I am trying to understand what digital protection and security feels like in a physical space. The idea of highlighting physical signs brings awareness to one’s current standpoint. By bridging the gap between the digital and the physical worlds I am trying to create “known” from the “unknown” by creating levels of reliability though materiality and physical form.

Hannah Sawyer

hannahsawyer.com 

Born 1991, New Rochelle, NY
Currently Resides in Brooklyn, NY

Education
• BFA, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY