Artistic Portfolio
By Seven Goeke
Inherent Longing
Artist Statement
​
In this series, I wanted to explore and demonstrate the topic of inherent longing, and the feeling of missing something indescribable. I was inspired by the 5 stages ascribed to bereavement (mourning someone who has passed), and decided to interpret them to this separate feeling, attempting to demonstrate the intense emotions that come along with the feeling that you are inherently incomplete, and are mourning this lost part of you.
I knew I wanted to make a series of paintings as soon as my idea formed, due to the medium being the most natural form of artistic expression for me. I was able to think on how each stage could be reinterpreted, in order to translate this complex and somewhat unknown feeling into a concept that people were already familiar with, like the five stages. The color choices and poses came to me as I worked, and I was able to take reference pictures of myself for the process. This resulted in a series of abstracted self-portraits, which to me is the perfect way of putting a little bit of myself in the artwork without making it simply paintings of me.
In the end, my goal is to invoke empathy in the audience for the intensity of the emotions displayed. It’s not meant to be a definition of traditional grief, but rather a communication from me to you, attempting to present these feelings that are so hard to describe.
Denial
Anger
Barganing
Depression
Acceptance
Between Worlds
This series emerged from much reflection on my split identities. I've never felt as though I could solidly belong to one group or another, whether that be a country, a family, or even an interest. It took a long time to properly connect with all the pieces that make up "me", and I wanted to express that difficulty in these drawings. I chose charcoal and graphite due to my desire to capture the feeling of a "snapshot" in time. They allow for detail not present in my more conceptual and abstractly painted works.
​
"Home" for the Holidays was born after I caught a glimpse of my mother's desk while she planned a holiday trip to visit our family in Sweden. It was covered in trip planning but also with the troubles she faced living here: a lack of citizenship, social instability, and more. It brought about a great deal of sadness and I artfully reorganized the items to give my audience a snapshot of my two realities colliding on her desk.
​
Force-Fed was a product of constantly being guided towards one interest or another. I was always encouraged to be either a failed artist or a successful scientist, but one or the other. I always felt force-fed. I wanted to capture the image of having something served to you that you simply do not desire to take.
​
With my final piece, Custody Schedule, I was reflecting on the experience of being a child of divorce. I always felt as though I was being passed between houses, between parents, unable to land at "home." I felt that my childhood could be snapshotted to this: sitting on the curb with my entire life packed into a duffle. With this image, I wanted to convey how I felt that I was a package, not a child.
"Home" for the Holidays
Force-Fed
Custody Schedule
