Artist's Statement
Prairie Stilwell lives and thrives within the connection between person and image. Their work is a process of mental catharsis, relieving painful memories and exploring new meanings for their own healing wounds, as well as those around them. Redefining history, on both the micro and macro level is a cause they have devoted themselves to - pursuing a continual expansion of these values as their artistic identity develops over time. Though each piece is deeply personal, Prairie hopes that the universal emotions allow their renderings to be widely accessible - and ultimately fluid in meaning.
Traversing the non-linearity of time and perception is an enduring passion in Prairie’s work. Their queerness and neurodivergent identity shapes this theme, as well as a fundamental tie to various communities in the Bay Area. Acknowledging the hardships they have come to know through life experience, they also strive to embody a living example of both surviving and thriving despite those experiences. One of the artist’s goals is to expand their focus through more collaboration with intersectional communities in the Bay Area. They believe that sharing personal narratives is an accessible starting point in social justice and a means to an end beyond performative projects. Stoking conversation and holding space for vulnerability is an aspect of artistic advocacy the artist admires most.
Prairie has worked across a wide span of mediums, though they often return to the simplicity of charcoal and oil paints to convey their message. Most of their experimentation lies in form and expansion into three dimensional spaces to enhance a preexisting image. Aesthetically, this artist celebrates that which is uncomfortable, but necessary to look at. Using distortion, stylistic brush/pencil strokes and purposefully disproportionate features to further express that which may be emotionally difficult to digest. The artist prioritizes a physical closeness to their projects, often using their bare hands to blend contours and shadows of their subject matter. Portraits lie at the heart of this artist’s work, though their efforts have recently bled into revitalizing objects and landscapes as well.
Prairie challenges their viewer to consider all possible perceptions of an image, and to always hold a critical eye. By weaving together the intricacies of a larger whole, an attempt at reaffirming the collective memory and wellbeing of those who are rendered most fragile within our oppressive society is the lifelong battle this artist has chosen to tackle.
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Artist's Bio
Growing up in an impoverished area of Long Beach, California, colloquially known as the “Gay Ghetto,” Prairie Stilwell has always been acutely aware of complex identities. Developing into a very shy and solitary child, they studied their surroundings intently, watching as the mental and physical turmoil of an underprivileged neighborhood came to a head under the corruption of financial and social tensions. When their family moved to a wealthier area of the same city in 2008, culture shock set in, and the contempt Prairie held against every ignorant old man toting around a lawn mower only grew with age. Simultaneously, a gross recognition of drug addiction, alcoholism, neglect, and deep intergenerational trauma in their own home became more apparent than ever before. For many years, Prairie stood silent and motionless - how do you communicate when nobody is there to hear you? This is the exact moment in time that for them, art became more than just marks on paper.
Today, Prairie uses their experience as a tool for insightful self and communal sustainability. Amplifying the fluidity and vulnerability in their own identity as a medium for connection to others. Being diagnosed with comorbid depression and complex post-traumatic stress disorder in 2019 allowed the artist to reclaim and re-examine their self perception, drawing and painting being the most safe and healing outlet to do so. The density of this process has at times stunted Prairie’s artistic goals and determination for connection - the rawness of their images reflect this, too. Ultimately, the artist navigates transformational properties of deep pain in hopes to become a resource for their peers, chosen family, and anyone else who still feels confined to silence.
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