Fuck Your Two-Sex Rule

Art by Ella May

Ella May is a multidisciplinary artist who specializes in painting, drawing, and digital media. She is currently enrolled at Columbia College Chicago pursuing a BFA as a first-year sophomore. Inspired by science, psychoanalysis, the human body, and many macabre influences, Ella is passionate about creating a world of her own based not only on rational logic, but the absurdities that exist within reality. Her work has been featured in the Reflections group exhibition at Hokin Gallery and P-P-Punk group exhibition in the Chicago Billiard Cafe. She will have several more pieces as part of the Chicago Creative Collective group exhibition, curated by Hannah Stein. She plans to expand her work into larger-scale paintings and launch a shop to sell her work. Dedicated to her artistic practice, Ella constructs a labyrinth of existence, unraveling the absurdity of reality through bold colors and dynamic forms, offering a glimpse into the unhinged dreamscape of her mind.

A Word From Ella

Our actions and presentation of ourselves is a product of the expectations of this reality. The ideologies we believe create the illusion of a world that must work in one way; however, when creating, I am able to go against the grain without approval. My practice has been the only thing that allows for true expression of my individual self. Through this expression I often make macabre, grotesque works reflecting my own anxieties and interests. I work across a variety of mediums; like drawing, sculpting, textile work, collage, but am drawn to painting most often. As I deepen my practice, the world I have created artistically continues to integrate into my everyday life. Without my art, it would be difficult to process my own existence, each piece I’ve created marks a separable moment in my life; one that nothing else could ever capture. I am infatuated with this relationship of creation because it keeps me sane from the disorder and despair that humans have made in reality.