Whenever I am given a task I always find myself saying I’ll do it later… I’ll do it later… and instead of completing it right away, I push it off until the last possible moment when stress overtakes me. By putting it off, the stress of thinking about all I have to do can distract me from enjoying the moment. With this show, I explore the relationship between procrastination and distraction and how it affects the now and the later.
Gallery patrons were invited to write personal To Do lists and tack them on the gallery wall. The lists were written on recycled and found papers to produce an organic flow to the installation. The use of different styles of paper, handwriting, and pen creates an pastiche of Procrastination. This affects everyone. Up close, the lists are unique to each individual and represent each point of view and the different ways we procrastinate, but as a whole the differing lists put together show one mind, — a cluttered mess that can take over an individual’s thoughts. When we have so much to do, we often can’t focus on just one idea or project with our full attention.
The To Do lists cluttered the wall and began to cover watercolor illustrations that I placed first. They are the now. These little moments, some are unfinished or haphazardly done, are covered by the lists, — the things one must do later. One cannot not appreciate the moment they are in presently when they are so consumed with all the things they have to do later.
