Decompose #4 by Taylor Torres
POETRY
Alfredo Aguilar
Dorothy Chan
Dan Collins & Paxton Maroney
Anne Champion
Kate DeBolt
Stephanie McCarley Dugger
Malcolm Friend
David Kirby
jessie knoles
Luther Hughes
Samantha Lê
Sara Lupita Olivares
Megan Denton Ray
Esteban Rodriguez
Sarah Sgro
Kimberly Ann Southwick
Z.G. Tomaszewski
Lesley Valdes
FICTION
N.T. Arévalo
Kate Arden McMullen
Rebecca Reynolds
NONFICTION
Mason Hamberlin
Cheyenne Nimes
Melanie Unruh
REVIEW
Magdalene by Marie Howe reviewed by Joshua Jones
ARTIST STATEMENT: My work within this submission consists of four abstract pieces making up my body of work titled Decompose. The four pieces are 8×10 lumen prints. I created these by laying out fruit on photographic paper, exposing them to the sun for multiple hours, and fixing the prints. The abstract images seen on the scans are a product of the reaction of fruit acid and the silver gelatin of the paper.
My work is a reflection on the food industry and cultural views on food represented by American society. The American food industry has devalued the importance of safe, natural ingredients by continuing to produce toxic foods to keep products cheap, quick, and to prolong shelf-life. The images represent how we, as Americans, have accepted these low food standards and continue to consume products that are not only harmful to us, but also the environment. Decompose seeks to propose topics concerning GMOs, artificial flavors and preservatives, and our blind-eye towards the devastating standards we continue to support in the food industry.
ARTIST STATEMENT: My entire life has been spent on the Gulf Coast and this is visible in my artwork. The images I am submitting are gouache paintings of the views found on Bray’s Bayou in southeast Houston. This region maintains an uncomfortable balance between industry, commerce, history, and natural beauty. My neighborhood is now experiencing pre-gentrifcation growing pains and by making these paintings, I hope to engage in sometimes timeless and larger than myself or the now.
ART
John Forse is a Houston-based artist and watercolor instructor at the University of Houston. His images are gouache paintings of the views found on Bray’s Bayou in southeast Houston. His illustrations have been featured in Free Press Houston, Glasstire, and Suplex educational materials.
Taylor Torres is a 21 year old fine art & lifestyle photographer living and working in Houston, Texas. She is currently studying for her BFA in photography at the University of Houston. Taylor’s work focuses on the female body, portraiture, and the ever-changing, developing connection between human nature and culture. Much of her work dives into the challenges women face with body-image, power, and feminism. Coming from a white American background and marrying a first-generation Hispanic, Taylor is fascinated with the fusion of cultures and how they influence our perception and attitude of self and society.
