Project Overview
From Ego To Essence is a ten-year visual archive (2018-2028) documenting the political and cultural turbulence of our era and the ways individuals and societies navigate trauma, division and renewal.
In 2018 I created 52 dated collages, one for each week of the year, using newspaper headlines to capture what was happening in America and the world. Over time the project expanded beyond politics to explore a deeper question; how do we move from reaction and rage toward wholeness and hope?
This archive is not only a personal journey but a collective one. An attempt to preserve, interpret and reflect on a decade that will define our history.
Project Arc Timeline (2018-2028)
2018-2020:The Ego Years (Upheaval)
2018- 52 completed weekly collages. 2019-2020- Larger canvases containing month-long spans of headlines, expanding the scope and scale of the archive.
2021-2024: The Awakening Years (The Shift, No Headlines)
Works in development explore the inner and outer consequences of constant noise and division revealing the weight left in their wake and the decision to choose peace over blame.
2025-2028: The Return of Ego Years (Dual Worlds)
With Trump’s re-election in 2024, division returned louder than ever. To complete the archive, I returned to documenting the headlines, but the work itself had to evolve. I had changed, and the art reflects that change. No longer only reactive, it weaves symbols of hope and resilience through the noise.
Exhibition Timeline
2026- Soft Launch Exhibition:The first major exhibition will open in 2026, showing the complete 2018 archive alongside one representative work from each subsequent year. This will introduce audiences to the project’s arc and invite reflection in the middle of a pivotal U.S. election year, when questions of democracy, division and resilience will again be front of mind.
2028- Final Exhibition:The completed ten-year archive will be exhibited in 2028 featuring approximately 100 pieces. This closing exhibition, again in an election year, will place the full body of work in dialogue with the social and political climate of the moment. Visitors will not only see how the past decade unfolded, but will also confront their own choices in real time, as history repeats and new futures are decided.