Contingency
(con·tin·gen·cy) nouna future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.
‘Contingency,’ Digital Illustration, 2025.
Displayed at C2E2 Lounge, April 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 LGBTQ lounge at C2E2 - one of Chicago’s biggest pop-culture conventions. A guy who was staff at the lounge saw and liked my piece so much that he hunted down my table in the Artist Alley and asked if the piece was for sale. I was shocked. I didn’t really think my personal (original) works had any merit, let alone for it to reach someone so much that it compels them to come find me. People are only here for the art of media they like! Things that they already know and enjoy! Not something I made for myself as an outlet for my emotions... But despite what I thought, at that con, someone, a complete 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 artwork, original work. Even if it impacts only me and one other person, it was worth it.
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 LGBTQ lounge at C2E2 - one of Chicago’s biggest pop-culture conventions. A guy who was staff at the lounge saw and liked my piece so much that he hunted down my table in the Artist Alley and asked if the piece was for sale. I was shocked. I didn’t really think my personal (original) works had any merit, let alone for it to reach someone so much that it compels them to come find me. People are only here for the art of media they like! Things that they already know and enjoy! Not something I made for myself as an outlet for my emotions... But despite what I thought, at that con, someone, a complete 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 artwork, original work. Even if it impacts only me and one other person, it was worth it.
Sketch and Progress stages of ‘Contingency.’