Written and Photographed by Kevin Heffernan
Warmth and joy. Some art, some artists just emanate it to those around them – friends or strangers. Bianca McGraw (on Instagram as @biancalperiod), is one such artist.
Maybe it was because she was building her entire exhibit, part of PLAY/GROUND 2020, entirely out of Legos, or maybe it was pride in the Black Lives Matter message the art portrayed. Either way, it was a connection I was thrilled to make and learn about her and her art.
Rise
Where did you grow up and when did you discover art?
Bianca
I grow up on the South of Chicago. Art was a part of my identity as a young age. It was a great way to express myself and channel my energy.
Rise
What mediums do you usually work with? What mediums do you love to experiment with?
Bianca
I consider myself a Multimedia Performance Installation Artist that is able to use various mediums and combinations. Lately, my focus is using digital illustrations and various found objects to create installations or give-able art.
Rise
What topics, if any, does your work usually center around?
Bianca
With help from the artistic roads of sculpture, design, installation, poetry, video and performance, I investigate personal, societal, and communal connections to various cultural themes, politics and issues. With each investigation, I aim to provide vehicles that drive viewers along a highway paved with expressive dialogue and discussion. Through those dialectical discussions, I strive to increase the traffic flow and exchange of individual understandings, intimate experiences and perceptional interpretations.
Rise
How did the concept of this project come to you?
Bianca
Space and community engagement are important to me and my work style and process. I thought to myself…what would be my next project that could do this while using Legos because I have a lot of them in my studio. I decided that I would use legos to reclaim space as an artist of color, create visual imagery and redistribute the materials to the local community. The Reclaim & Redistribute Project allows for me to create such an installation that reclaims while in dismantling allows for me to redistribute by developing Inspirational Creation Boxes or building kits for children in disenfranchised communities throughout Buffalo.
Rise
How do you recommend viewers prepare to see it and how should they experience it in the moment?
Bianca
As an artist, I see myself as a vehicle. I see viewers as drivers that are using the vehicle to guide them down their own road of thoughts.
Handles:
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Check out PLAY/GROUND’s entire lineup fro 9/11 – 9/20 right here!
