Elissa Shi

Disconnect

Digital

This piece is a reflection of the hand that bears the weight of my head — the disconnect between my physical and mental self. The body is out of sight, but it's the head, my mind, that is misplaced and has drifted away.

For a long time, I have struggled with communication. The only thing that properly managed to bridge the divide between my mental self and my physical one were my hands. Whether through music or art, they represented the visceral ideologies I wanted to express to others what could not otherwise be shown through words. 

However, this piece is one of frustration. The head continues to drift away, and it disconnects further from the world. It hits a stage of torrential shapes, and the transparency transcends the edge of reality. My eyes avert its gaze from the rest of my body, and it refuses to accept the fall back down. The head’s countenance is green and sickly, and paired with the saturated patterning in the background, becomes grating to look at.

The bridge between disconnects, yet my hands stay, trying to help it down. Or maybe it's tired, so it chooses the easier path and erases instead.