Frances Ross

  • Frances Ross

  • Hauntology Illustrations

  • Writer Mark Fischer described hauntology as a “nostalgia for lost futures.” This project is an exploration of the destructive paths that our society has taken which slowly destroy the dreams of a better future. By using archaic forms of art-making contrasted with sci-fi elements, I accentuate the dichotomy inherent in hauntology: the present and absent, the past and future, and the positive and negative.

  • These illustrations revolve around the theme of Hauntology: The concept that we are haunted by our lost futures, or rather, haunted by the cancellation of better futures due to our current destructive paths. My own interpretation of Hauntology revolves around its inherent dichotomy: The study of being and non-being, the past and the future, the present and the absent, and the positive and negative.

    This project is an exploration of the destructive paths that our society has taken which slowly destroy the dreams of a better future. The process began by looking at classical art from the 15-1700’s, architectural motifs from the 1900’s Art Deco movement, and iconography from 1950’s—when the ideas for the “home of tomorrow” and cold war hysteria were at their apex.  By alluding to classical artworks and biblical references and combining them with futuristic elements, I create a conceptual dichotomy. The visual dichotomy was accentuated using modular architecture with organic patterning, straight lines with floral collage, ink with cutouts, and black with white space.

    By using pen and ink on the original pieces, I reference an archaic form of art making. This became a meditation on exploring my own anxieties over an uncertain future. An anxiety which manifested in obsessive mark making, meditative mandalas, and fragmented dreamscapes. Wave patterns create undulating vortexes linking the illustrations by a common thread. Each illustration is a snapshot, loosely connected to one another, but never quite engaging; this is a representation of our own fragmented reality. The lines become ghosts, existing within the past, the present, and the future, simultaneously.

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    francesalbatross@gmail.com