Katelyn Owen

Statement

This series represents an ongoing journey of self-exploration as I deal with newfound obstacles in my mental and physical health. As I reflect on my experiences, a peculiar grammatical shift occurs. When reliving memories I am comfortable with, I refer to myself as “me.” When I encounter something too painful, “me” becomes “her.” I realized that I regard parts of myself as another person entirely, and it was time to get to know her. The flexible yet guided structure of the Fano plane allowed me to experiment with various combinations of these parts until they snapped into perfect formation. The seven resulting paintings catalyzed deep understanding and healing, making this the most challenging and rewarding project I have worked on.

Artworks

I created a model of the Fano plane by interpreting its seven lines as "themes" and seven points as "paintings." Abiding by the rules of finite projective planes, each painting is generated by a unique combination of three personal themes. Each theme has a color association that determines the color palette of the paintings. The paintings are on circular canvases, each with a 30 cm diameter, and primarily depict natural forms to various levels of abstraction. This series represents a journey of self-exploration, specifically diving into isolated parts of my personality. It is a unique combination of abstract geometry and studio art, with connections to the psychological theory of Internal Family Systems.