Happy Hour
24”x30”
Acrylic Paint
Snippet in Time
24”x30”
Oil Paint
Reflections
20”x16”
Oil Paint
Riverside
12”x16”
Oil Paint
Daddy Daughter Dance
20”x16”
Oil Paint
Splinters of 2020
A portrait of the 2020 family in acrylic paint.
During the COVID-19 months, activities such as playing team sports, celebrating with family and friends, schooling, and vacationing have been locked away. The longer the activities stay in the cage, the more dull they grow as well as in number. The lighting projects a large X on the wall and the image of metal bars around the cage. The cage door rests slightly open—are we ready to be set free, or is this just the beginning? How full will the cage become?
Though COVID-19 surrounds the memory of 2020, if one looks closer, a complex, dynamic game of Chinese checkers ensues in the United States. The board game hints at the various Chinese connections in 2020—ranging from the birthplace of COVID-19 to the conspiracies regarding Chinese government infiltrating and surrounding the U.S. Various races and social groups are represented by the different players on the board. As the white pieces are born into their righteous spots, most black and yellow pieces begin at the bottom and progress toward the American Dream with a constricted path. The thin blue line representing government and authority can either provide protection or become an impediment to progress and advancement. The red pieces hint at the color of the Chinese flag and resemble the spikes on a virus particle, which affects everyone in the U.S. and to a heavier degree near the bottom of the board. Each piece is purposefully arranged, and the complex interactions between the pieces invite viewers to further explore the landscape of the work.
As these Caucasian children pledge allegiance to the American flag, with Heritage trees in the backdrop, they stand upon a pedestal above the world. They have their backs turned toward domestic issues represented on the Chinese checker board.
“All Men are created equal.” The board is strategically placed on a carving of the “American Revolution” on a marble bench referring to the sturdy foundation on which the game is played.
This Chinese playing board is embraced on American soil among the Heritage Live Oak Trees.
I’m mesmerized by the spinning fan dangling above my bed. In 2020, I’m a fish ready to jump into a new page of my life (though this future is a dark unknown), but I’m caught by a cyclical lifestyle quarantined in my dwelling. For now, as this piece remains in my room as an installation artwork, I rest here on the edge of the water, waiting for some higher power to turn off the fan and release me from this grip.
In 2018, Hurricane Florence damaged the exterior decking of my home. Similarly, COVID-19 has come through and destroyed many lives and social activities, and many of us have felt imprisoned in our dull homes. There is an ominous, noxious, red haze over the outside world that surrounds my home. Red is used to connote danger and allude to the Chinese flag, since China is the birthplace of COVID-19. Although my home has been damaged by Florence—my life damaged by COVID-19—the damage is minor and superficial compared to other homes’ and people’s situations, yet I sit here mesmerized by the damage and feel imprisoned behind the bars. Just as the hurricane’s damage has yet to be repaired, I wonder if the damage caused by the virus can ever be repaired.
The red swirls of COVID-19 and the uncertainty and risks of 2020 on the other side of the plexiglass are bound by mere masking tape. The piece references the hanging sheets of plexiglass in public spaces that separate and protect citizens. The plexiglass reflects my bedroom where I’m isolated for months, locked away with swirling and growing anxieties about the future. As I handled the piece and added masking tape to the edges, my hand was cut; my blood is swirled into the work. Now, the masking tape and plexiglass represent the thin barrier between protection and danger.
Quarantine Collection
2020
While visiting a strawberry patch, I remembered the song “Strawberry Fields Forever” by the Beatles and was inspired to portray a yearning for hope during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, I included despair, reflecting psychological harm and daily battles between positive and depressing mindsets. However, I questioned: why portray this conflict? What is the impact of echoing negative sentiments? Instead, I considered how to promote hope, faith, intimacy, and a sense of community; I want to reverse fear, despair, and loneliness.
I used acrylic paint, a vibrant, jubilant, and man-made medium, to examine symbols of hope and ways to incite feelings of optimism, connectedness, calmness, and safety. I focused on red symbols to reverse negative connotations attached to the color: blood, death, and malice.
I investigated how to emphasize the red focal points, using complementing and contrasting colors and values, encouraging one to find and focus on hope. I explored conveying intimacy by varying viewpoints, reflecting the positive side of being quarantined. As my investigation progressed, I transitioned from an egocentric feeling of isolation to a community-based focus of togetherness.
Strawberry Summer
14”x11”
Acrylic Paint
2020
14”x11'“
Acrylic Paint
Intimacy in the Dunes
11”x14”
Acrylic Paint
God Bless America
11”x14”
Acrylic Paint
Game Night
8”x10”
Acrylic Paint
Red Ribbon
14”x11”
Acrylic Paint
Red Ribbon 2020 Easter/Passover
16”x12”
Acrylic Paint
Windows of Quarantine
10”x8”
Acrylic Paint
Comfort
12”x16”
Acrylic Paint
Community Bonding at Kindred Spirit
8”x10”
Acrylic Paint
AJ Kochuba
Based in North Carolina, USA, AJ Kochuba has a foundation in traditional painting methods and expands into contemporary spaces to comment on complex community concerns. He works in various mediums from oil painting to found materials to create visual narratives inspired by nature, history, and current social movements.
Contact: info@AJKochuba.com
Website: AJKochuba.com
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