Date of Submission

Spring 2024

Academic Program

Film and Electronic Arts

Project Advisor 1

Ben Coonley

Abstract/Artist's Statement

I’ve struggled with the feelings that have resulted from my decision to go to college across the globe, conflicted with the fact that it was a decision I made myself, and the fact that I feel more and more like an outsider each time I fly back home to visit. With every year that passes, I feel less like I don’t belong in this new place, and more like I don’t belong in my own home country. I don’t want to forget the loneliness I experienced that came with trying to settle in a completely different place, as well as the ultimate joy I’ve come to find when finally encountering my people. This piece is an interpretation of what I underwent back when I felt out of place in New York. Since I grew up in Rio de Janeiro, I depict myself as a Brazilian wandering spider (Armadeira in Portuguese) which is only found in countries as far away from South America as the United States when it is accidentally packed up with fruit shipments. The spider finds itself in a crate of bananas and ends up in New York where it comes across animals typical to the area, and their colder personalities. We follow its journey through this new unfriendly place until it finds an accepting group of companions. The piece ends not with the immediate assurance of new, strong friendships, but with the lingering feeling of hope and anticipation that these new characters will soon become close. During my journey, that excitement for what might come next has been the feeling that immediately outdid those of fear and anxiety. I depict the new animals tossing the spider a ball, a gesture of inclusion, which it throws into a red party cup; a national symbol of American college. This final action is a welcoming segue from feeling out of place to the start of a new home.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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