The Soft Animal of Your Body

LYDIA DILDILIAN
PORTFOLIO INFO & M[OR]E

The Soft Animal of Your Body
The Dome, the Orb, the Womb, the Breath ... rhythms of labor and space exist under the big blue sky converging in this exhibition. The Soft Animal ofYour Body is an immersive series of new works delving into the intricate themes of motherhood, further exploring the mix of euphoria and dysphoria entwined with the profound physical and mental changes accompanying this experience. Employing visual metaphor and abstracted mind-scapes, the exhibition unravels the elusive emotional depth of motherhood. Through a variety of mediums including videos, projections, and mixed media drawings, and paintings-the artwork unfurls, using clouds as a motif. These ethereal, wispy, cloud spaces dance in contrast to tangible elements, the earthly companions of trees, rocks, flowers, and fragments of landscape, each a mark anchoring the abstract narrative.

In the gallery, the series of mixed media drawings and paintings, In the Place of Things, unveils fixed images, meticulously crafted for a sojourn into the landscapes of my hypnotic meanderings captured on paper. In contrast, the interactive installation Hide and Seek invites the audience to co-create their own mind-scapes. This collaborative work emphasizes interconnectedness, imploring the countless composite of others and absorbed voices in the alliance of motherhood.

Artist Notes & Sources: During my pregnancy and postpartum period, I became captivated by a poem titled "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver. A particular line, "The soft animal of your body," resonated with me and reflected my experience throughout this journey, inspiring the title of this body of work. Additionally, the music of composer Hania Rani had a profound influence on me as I created the drawings and paintings in this series.

Artwork Photographed by Paden DeVita

Head in the Clouds | $1,000
Four color pencil on fabric drawing suspended with dowel rods and monofilament. Wood and plaster tree sculptures with polished metal spheres
144“ x 45” (far left and right) & 180” x 45” (middle left and right)
2023 - 2024

Head in the Clouds
Digital video
18:04:00

(Detail) Head in the Clouds | $1,000
Four color pencil on fabric drawing suspended with dowel rods and monofilament. Wood and plaster tree sculptures with polished metal spheres
144“ x 45” (far left and right) & 180” x 45” (middle left and right)
2023 - 2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65 each ($1,690 total)
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, color pencil, glitter, alcohol markers, spray paint, and Dura-Lar on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

Installation View- The Soft Animal of Your Body (The Bardbury Art Musuem), Jonesboro, AR

(Detail) In the Place of Things Series | $65 each ($1,690 total)
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, color pencil, glitter, alcohol markers, spray paint, and Dura-Lar on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

The Soft Animal of Your Body | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, and color pencil on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

Lorn | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, and color pencil on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

Blood of My Blood | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, and color pencil on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Wave Pool | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, and color pencil on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

Oasis in the Sky | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, glitter, and spray paint on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

Paths Laid | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, and glitter on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

The Fall | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, and glitter on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, glitter, spray paint, and Dura-Lar on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, and glitter on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

Lorn | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, and color pencil on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, alcohol markers, and glitter on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

Lorn | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, and color pencil on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, alcohol markers, and glitter on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, spray paint, and Dura-Lar on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, glitter, spray paint, and Dura-Lar on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

Lorn | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, washi tape, and color pencil on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, and spray paint on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, alcohol markers, and spray paint on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, and glitter on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

In the Place of Things Series | $65
Mixed media collage with acrylic paint, color pencil, glitter, spray paint, and Dura-Lar on digital c-prints
5” x 7”
2024

To Hold A Memory
Plastic key chain viewfinders with digital acetate prints and mixed materials
2.25” x 1.5” x 1.25”
2024

Installation View- The Soft Animal of Your Body (The Bardbury Art Musuem), Jonesboro, AR

To Hold A Memory
Plastic key chain viewfinders with digital acetate prints and mixed materials
2.25” x 1.5” x 1.25”
2024

(Detial) To Hold A Memory
Plastic key chain viewfinders with digital acetate prints and mixed materials
2.25” x 1.5” x 1.25”
2024

(Installation View) To Hold A Memory
Plastic key chain viewfinders with digital acetate prints and mixed materials
2.25” x 1.5” x 1.25”
2024

(Detail) To Hold A Memory
Plastic key chain viewfinders with digital acetate prints and mixed materials
2.25” x 1.5” x 1.25”
2024

(Installation View) To Hold A Memory
Plastic key chain viewfinders with digital acetate prints and mixed materials
2.25” x 1.5” x 1.25”
2024

(Installation View) Hide and Seek | $2,000
Overhead projetors with color acetate collages, cushions, and archival storage box
14" w x 18" d x 28" (overhead projector)
2024

Hide and Seek | $2,000
Overhead projetors with color acetate collages, cushions, and archival storage box
14" w x 18" d x 28"
2024

(Installation View) Hide and Seek | $2,000
Overhead projetors with color acetate collages, cushions, and archival storage box
14" w x 18" d x 28"
2024

(Detail) Hide and Seek | $1,000
Overhead projetors with color acetate collages, cushions, and archival storage box
14" w x 18" d x 28"
2024

HIDE SEEK
move images around to make your own collage

( take a screenshot and tag me @l.dildilian )

SHIFT4

Copy Right 2024 Lydia Dildilian