Blended Cultures
At ION Orchard, Singapore
Drawing inspiration from her multicultural experiences, Erin layers patterns from Singapore and New Orleans represents, represetning her family. “Mixing materials like cyanotype, ink, and printing is a joyful passion of exploration for me.”
As an artist-educator, she found that her dual role deepens her understanding of students navigating the creative process. “Being both creator and teacher sets an example of perseverance and the courage to try hard things. Our students often inspire our work, and in turn, our art sparks new ideas for techniques or skills they might enjoy exploring.”
Caskey’s series draws inspiration from Claudia Rankine’s PLOT, Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, and the artistic ethos of the Bloomsbury Group. Central to the work are the imagery and themes from Rankine’s poem “Eight Sketches: After Lily Brasco’s Purple Triangle.”
The medium—chalk pastel and charcoal on lined paper—evokes the residue left between relationships. The lined paper and faint traces of text ground the work in literary influence. Erased and partially visible, the text symbolizes how people, including Woolf’s characters, obscure parts of themselves to connect with others.
The imagery explores multifaceted gems, reflecting the layered perspectives and relationships in Rankine’s work. Some pieces stand alone, illustrating specific themes, while others weave Rankine’s framed text and bottom-page motifs into visual form.
The final four works form a single composition: an abstracted, multifaceted lighthouse and its reflection. The lighthouse’s shape and details are inspired by Godrevy Lighthouse in Cornwall, England—a place Virginia Woolf visited as a child, which inspired her seminal novel.
Erin Caskey 