Herd

by Walker Antonio

72x60in, Acrylic on Canvas, 2024

“While the digital age has brought information to our fingertips, it has also laid bare our personal lives, making our triumphs and tragedies fodder for public consumption. As we seek the approval of complete strangers via follows and likes, our feelings of self-worth become increasingly intertwined with the judgment of others. My work examines the erosion of humanity in our increasingly intimate relationship with our screens. The bright and bold colors I use represent, at first glance, a joyful expression; but beneath the colorful palette lies a more shadowy existence, which I see as analogous to lives curated for consumption on social media, where a darker truth often lurks beneath the façade of smiles. Through my work, I strive to bring attention to the fragility of the modern state of being, the destructive power of anxiety, and the critical importance of mental health in the 21st century.”