Color as Nostalgia

Nos·tal·gia (noun) - a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

When I moved, the colors and feelings of where I grew up in the Virgin Islands stayed with me, and as I longed for the islands in the ocean and blue hues, the Pacific North West became my new home, the gray colors, vibrant greens, and mountain landscape started captivating me. These feelings and colors that surrounded me created a mixture of emotions as to what home was and where it would be for me, as if to be defined by it. As I created this body of work, there was no intention to create from this personal exploration, but in creation it is inevitable for the unconscious to be unveiled, and the beauty about that is that things are seen and discovered that show you yourself and you become in touch with deep emotions that yearn to be explored.

A longing for where I once was, and a new love for where I came to be. Feeling torn between.

But I didn’t have to choose, and in my work two became one. the colors from both places came together harmoniously as my identity was questioned based on place. A discovery of self, uncovered, nude and growing free of attachment. Embodying not just two places but the connection to the natural world. Exploring solitude and deeply within, home became my very own heart.

Love,

Sophia Foster