Which WRAY did she go?
Brianna Wray
My journey into visual arts began with an introduction to graffiti and acrylic paintings with a guerilla-style artist collective known as the B-Side artists of Orlando, FL. We created paintings in full view of a boisterous audience. My favorite subject was nature, and featured trees in many forms. Some were composed of impossible elements such as bubbles, while others fantasized trees in unrealistic locations.
Upon relocating to Seattle, I began marrying my interest in music with visual arts by further destroying damaged, unplayable instruments and then rebuilding them into works of art. I studied interdisciplinary visual art at the University of Washington where I was able to pursue many forms of printmaking, life drawing, abstract painting, bookmaking, web design, photography and videography. After college I worked for Chihuly and was able to learn glass blowing. All the while I maintained a blog and vlog, producing content on every platform available.
My current works are cumulative. There are traces of graffiti and landscapes, as well as abstraction. As in video, each element is a part of a much larger story. I use found and recycled objects, bronze, ethically sourced bones, etc., as well as process driven media to explore and express the complexities of the human experience. My work delves into themes of identity, despair, memory and the subconscious with an heir of whimsicality and warmth. Sunshine and rainbows alongside skulls and fermentation; all things beautiful. I’m interested in art’s place in our everyday lives, social justice, and how it can speak to the intrinsic beauty, the native beauty embedded right in our skin. Ultimately, my goal as an artist is to create works that are both visually stunning and emotionally resonant.