Lani Imre

 Stringling, Graphite on Paper, 13.5” x 10.5”, 2020 

I first envisioned my drawing as a string of paper cut out dolls. I then wondered how to translate that into an image that would best illustrate my feelings during the initial Corona Virus lock-down. Most significant to me was our prevailing connectedness within such a profound sense of global pause and physical isolation. As an artist, I also reveled in how tender life appears as external concerns are subtracted and one’s focus becomes hyper-acute on mundane and intimate details.   

In my illustration I chose different postures of the same character in order to put attention on small changes in mood and experience. I felt the isolation and lack of mobility caused a great deal of self-reflection. I interpreted this internal search as a mirroring with the negative shapes or “shadows” of the dolls. I experienced the repetition and rhythm of each day as a pattern from which to focus without distraction. I then intended for this drawing to appear as a crop or a continuum of a line of dolls that could possibly go either direction for an undetermined length of time. The “shadows” of the dolls include stylized facemasks as a symbolic reference to the measures put in place to slow the curve of the virus. With the mask details, I wanted to again point out the limitations set on social interaction and communication that still continues today. 

Lani paints in a contemporary style that reflects aspects of illustration, graphics, and street art. The bold, defiant characters she creates touch on themes of female identity and sexual fantasy while pushing against contradictory media depictions of femininity. By contrasting the fierce, the sensual and the vulnerable in her work, Lani’s primary objective is to give voice to the desires of women.