ARTIST STATEMENT
Simultaneously childlike and cynical, my work depicts myself and my generation in all of its complexities. Generation Z has been characterized as both reluctant to mature and quite pessimistic of the world around us. As someone who is coming into adulthood maintaining their whimsical, strange, “kiddy” worldview, I have come to realize just how valuable that perspective is, the importance of fun and nonsense in a world that only wants to squeeze the profit out of you. My sculptures, games, and illustrations include bright colors, loud patterns, and nonsensical logic. I hope to provide respite from productivity culture within my work, a space to reconsider what we deem worthy of attention.
360° Home, in particular, showcases the tension between childhood and adulthood through fun, goofy architecture, mixed with more adult, cynical, images. Much of my work is diaristic and includes references to my life. During the time I was making 360° Home, my Pepere (grandfather) passed away. In the bathroom of this piece, next to the printer, is a print of an email he once sent me when he met a family member’s newborn. Alongside a photo of him and the baby, he wrote “reminds me of you and I 19 years ago!”. I also began fostering a cat during this time and she can be seen as a scuba diver in the aquarium wall in the living room. Heavy topics and silly in-jokes like this co-exist in my practice as well as my life as a budding adult.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lily Gregoire is a visual artist based in Chicago, IL, currently pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work includes cardboard miniatures, web games, and wooden toys that champion fun, curiosity, and discovery as acts of defiance in a culture that values productivity above all. Gregoire takes craft and whimsy to the extreme, creating cluttered, I-spy-like environments out of discarded materials. She prioritizes play and her work asks that audiences do too. Gregoire has exhibited work at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Offcut Showroom (IL), The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards National Exhibition (NY), and multiple local libraries in her home state of Massachusetts.
© Lily Gregoire