Marissa Parks

Marissa Parks
Artist Statement

I use the functions of the brain as the catalyst for my work. From mental illnesses to neurological conditions, I explore all physical and psychological aspects of the brain and ultimately draw awareness to different conditions that can affect the brain. I associate the brain with control and power. To me, the amount of influence it has over us is both beautiful and terrifying.

My paintings vary from expressionistic and abstract, to more recognizable imagery such as Rorschach test to the human hand. I use my sculptures to physically represent the sense of anxiety often associated with dealing with mental illness. By over exaggerating and abstracting physical features, such as the neck, I’m able to visually communicate symptoms one may experience when having an anxiety attack.

I made this connection between a person's hands and their assumed mental states. Calluses share hard work, bitten nails suggest anxious habits, and through the hands I am portraying in my work, I can communicate a variety of other interpretations. I use my own hands when I speak to better illustrate my words and feelings. My paintings and photography of my and other people's hands share feelings of lingering, creeping, and other unsettling and overwhelming sensations. “Creep,” is painted large to further emphasize these feelings and to illustrate the profound impact of a possible anxiety attack, manic episode or seizure has on the one effected by these states of mental health.

Artist Bio

Marissa Parks currently lives in Lake City, Florida and is a full-time art student at Valdosta State University where she is receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Art. Painting and photography are her media of choice but she has also worked with metals and jewelry making as well. Her work considers disorders of the brain, more specifically mental illness and epilepsy. Her painting style is influenced by her interest in the works of Vincent Van Gogh, Jackson Pollack and Edvard Munch, while her photographs are mainly black and white and tend to illustrate many interpretations of human hands engaging in various emotional states.

Her work has been part of several exhibitions including From The Ground Up: Art and Design Foundations, Valdosta State University Student Competition and Florida Gateway College Student Art Exhibit, where she was awarded the Fall 2016 Purchase Award.