Mackenzie White, BFA Exhibition "Rinse and Repeat"

WIU Department of Art and Design senior, Mackenzie White, will have her solo BFA exhibition, "Rinse and Repeat", on display December 5 through December 15 at the Western Illinois University Art Gallery. A reception for the artist will be held Monday, December 5, 4:30-6:00 p.m. The artist will speak about her work at 5:00 pm. “Much of my work focuses on personal attachment to self-perception. I have always been drawn to depicting people, and in my most recent works, I have focused on the depiction of myself in various methods of discernible expression. This exploration of self comes out visually in the form of written text, rendered oil portraits, line drawing, and collages of other works. Exploring the idea of the self in 2-D media helps me to map out perception of experiences while trying to understand the space that I take up. It helps me ask why my mind focuses on certain thoughts and not others within my artistic practice. Environments are not always tangible in what I am depicting, but the figure is usually taking up some form of space. Movement is the most important factor in my practice as well as documentation of past experiences. I can not only move forward with a different perspective and mindset, but I can also look back on my past thoughts and technical artistic process. That is why creating is pivotal for helping me understand my place and purpose during a specific moment in time. There will always be something new to explore, regardless of my focus or interest at that given moment.”