Artist Statement for P A U S E

As technology continues to accelerate and the pace of life roars forward, I feel compelled to subvert this momentum by making what I call “slow objects” that invite PAUSE. I recall a time when society felt bound together by shared cultural underpinnings through legacy media like radio, TV and printed matter. Algorithms now serve us individualized content often within a deafening echo chamber. This rich abundance of content–more than we’ll ever be able to consume–positively allows for more voices to be heard, but further frustrates a society's ability to build trust across spectrums due to cultural fragmentation. 

I see art as a way to create opportunities for shared contemplation and experiences. While working on this series the term “PAUSE” continued to come to mind, which I eventually related to the boombox structures I was creating, and the silence they inhabit.

I’m curious about them as carriers of cryptic and deep-seeded thought–information stored within us. The work explores the narrative power of this device and its relationship with time. Within the term pause there is an indication of control over time, as in the controls of a tape deck; play, stop, pause, rewind, fast forward.

Jerstin Crosby
b. Dothan, AL, USA
Based in Winston-Salem, NC, USA

He received an MFA from UNC-Chapel Hill and a BFA from the University of Alabama. His work has been featured in New American Paintings, Art Papers Magazine, and Art Forum Magazine. He was the recipient of a 2023 Snapdragon Research Grant and was commissioned in 2021 by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance to create a permanent outdoor sculpture in the state capitol.

His work has been exhibited at the Knockdown Center, Queens, NY, the International Print Center New York, NYC, Ada Gallery, in Richmond, VA, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Greenville, SC, Contemporary Art Museum (CAM), in Raleigh, and the Atlanta Contemporary. Crosby is currently in a yearlong artist mentorship program through the NYC Crit Club’s Canopy Program.