Artist Statement: I want to create a piano that is a love note and homage to the NYC subway. I've been in love with the NYC subways since I moved here 8 years ago. I think it perfectly represents the energy, diversity, and amazing mixture of history-laden solidity and the constant change and fluidity of NYC. Using multiple materials (including, mosaic tile, collaged newspapers, acrylic transfers, paint and drawing techniques) I want to create a somewhat surreal and disjointed world that highlights the labyrinthine underground architectural world of the subway system- tunnels, platforms, artwork and trains - with a mix of realistic and abstracted people/portraits layered into and on top of this landscape. Found text (from overheard conversations, the post-it wall in Union Square, subway ads, and first and second hand retellings of subway encounters) will be layered into the piece as well. I want to capture the diversity of the people who rely on this transportation system and how it can create both intimacy and anonymity. Some sections will be clear cut and unflinchingly realistic while others will blur and shift, allowing the viewer to fill in the gaps in the visual story. If you wait and watch, you will find all of humanity in the NYC subway and it is ghastly and glorious and everything in between and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'd like to create a piece that lets us celebrate NYC as personified by this shared space and to recognize that all of it - the good, the bad, and the indifferent - is what makes us who were are - vital, flawed, and necessary.
Jessica Browne-White (aka DreamscapesInk) is a New York-based multidisciplinary artist who focuses on visual and physical storytelling. She is a creator of worlds and a purveyor of mystery, magic, and transformation. She believes we are all capable of imagining and re-creating the world as it isn't - yet. Her visual artwork has been displayed in group exhibitions in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington DC, and Chicago. Recent theatrical production credits include the creation of a devised theater piece entitled "The Graces" - a work-in-progress most recently shown at Leimay's 2015 SOAK Festival. Jessi has been a Sing for Hope volunteer artist since 2013 and has created, or assisted in the creation of, five pianos to date. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to be part of an organization that spreads so much joy to so many people.
