Exhibited and screened in Art Among the Stars 2025
Shifting Shapes Star Map
2025
printed digital construction, 30 x 20 inches (2)
digital projection, 2.5 min (2)
This piece is my take on a star map of the night sky, but since my artwork focuses on animal designs, this chart only shows constellations that are based on animals or mythical creatures. It is an artistic interpretation of the science of astronomy, mapping eons of celestial storytelling in my own style. This piece began with an examination of zodiac signs and how people pull from animals with whom they identify but has since expanded into a more complex artistic investigation of how we see familiar shapes and make meaning out of the vastness of space-time.
Within my art, I take an interdisciplinary focus that combines elements of both the arts and the sciences. My animal symbols are geometric and exact, though fragmentary. This practice is always informed by the natural and human environments around me as my art examines relationality, identification and placemaking. Placing my shapes into different compositions and relationships with one another creates a kind of evolution, wherein I experiment to watch the shapes change and grow over time.
Joelle Cook
Interdisciplinary Visual Arts and Creative Writing, Class of 2024
Joelle Cook (she/her) is an artist and author based in San Diego, CA. A military kid who grew up in different places, Joelle graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts and Creative Writing. She works primarily in printmaking, creating animal-based designs. Living a life of constant movement has driven her towards a creative expression focused on abstraction and forms that are not one singular thing but rather collections of shapes that create a whole creature. Her art is an exploration of the ways the biological world and the architecture of manmade forms overlap.
