Contingency
(con·tin·gen·cy) nouna future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.
‘Contingency,’ Digital Illustration, 2025.
In the past year, I found myself at a lot of different crossroads, both personally and professionally. Do I want to keep being an artist? Can I
keep being an artist?
Who am I if I stopped?
This piece was fueled by one such quarter-life crisis, one where I was really struggling with feelings of non-complacency and questioning whether I am okay with the trajectory I set myself on. ‘Contingency’ was born from a late-night revelation that no matter what the circumstances, I had two options: go [back] to what I know or step forward into whatever comes [next]. There is no staying here.
An important interaction with this piece that is worth mentioning is that it got a chance to be displayed at the C2E2 Lounge - one of Chicago’s biggest pop-culture conventions. A staff member at the lounge liked my piece so much that he found my table in the Artist Alley and asked if the piece was for sale. I was shocked. I didn’t really think my personal works had any merit, let alone for it to reach someone so much that it compels them to come find me. But despite what I thought, at that con, a stranger came up to me and said, “Hey, your work really resonated with me.” That interaction really stuck with me and, I think, is an important aspect of this piece’s story now. I still think about that interaction, and it drives me to keep making personal, original work. Even if it impacts only me and one other person, it was worth it.
This piece has then gone on to be the title piece of my solo exhibition ‘What Now?’ at the Timeless Art Gallery in 2026.
This piece was fueled by one such quarter-life crisis, one where I was really struggling with feelings of non-complacency and questioning whether I am okay with the trajectory I set myself on. ‘Contingency’ was born from a late-night revelation that no matter what the circumstances, I had two options: go [back] to what I know or step forward into whatever comes [next]. There is no staying here.
An important interaction with this piece that is worth mentioning is that it got a chance to be displayed at the C2E2 Lounge - one of Chicago’s biggest pop-culture conventions. A staff member at the lounge liked my piece so much that he found my table in the Artist Alley and asked if the piece was for sale. I was shocked. I didn’t really think my personal works had any merit, let alone for it to reach someone so much that it compels them to come find me. But despite what I thought, at that con, a stranger came up to me and said, “Hey, your work really resonated with me.” That interaction really stuck with me and, I think, is an important aspect of this piece’s story now. I still think about that interaction, and it drives me to keep making personal, original work. Even if it impacts only me and one other person, it was worth it.
This piece has then gone on to be the title piece of my solo exhibition ‘What Now?’ at the Timeless Art Gallery in 2026.
Sketch and Progress stages of ‘Contingency.’