Sasha December began her exploration of paint with abstractions in the form of portraits which she considered both color studies and manifestations of her psyche. The works were heavily inspired by her relationship with her little sister who is severely developmentally disabled. Alongside her abstract works, she painted stylized portraits of girls which soon evolved into her current subject.
December's paintings explore the societal pressures she grappled with as a young girl, including femininity, popularity, self-fulfillment, and loneliness, all while embodying a sense of ownership over the past and a hopeful outlook towards the future. With settings that hark back to her childhood, she brings to life what she wants to see and feel, through places where she’s felt at peace and places where she wishes she had.
The merging of December’s two worlds—both imaginative and real— creates an ultimate fantasy that she uses to rewrite her past, present and future. The work presents a journey of understanding that one’s search for happiness, fulfillment, and perfection necessitates writing one’s own path.
Artist Statement
The subjects of my work are extensions of the girl I have always fantasized about being in my youth, and the exhausting journey to becoming her. On this journey I’ve realized even that girl longs to be somebody else sometimes. I’ve realized even she is occasionally detached, melancholic, materialistic and…knows she’s flawed.
But ultimately, in both mind and body, she is beautiful for who she is. She’s learning that she can be whoever, and have whatever she wants, as long as she believes in herself and lives with integrity.
Hopeful, benevolent, and considerate; she just wants the best for those around her.
-Sasha December
