From Here On Out Interpretation

Chris Dacre's installation consisted of playful, felt cartoon figures. They wore armor and gas masks and carried guns. They filed out of trucks and drove tanks. He displayed 2-D, stop animations, and 3-D work. In his sculptures there were cartoon-like figures who were homeless and missing limbs while holding signs reading the truths of postwar effects. When you first walked into the gallery there were parachutes that the viewers had to sort of interact with in order to get into the rest of the space and explore what other pieces existed. He also made 3-D planes with little figures in them all hanging to look like they were flying downward to either land or crash. Not only did he portray people as cartoon-like creatures, but they were also all different colors as well. His set up of the artwork really made one forced to explore the gallery space instead of just looking straight at it.

Listening to the artist speak about his artwork was extremely interesting. He liked the space had to work with and depending on the space in which he is currently living in determines the size of the artwork that he can create. What also is a factor is the size of his car; since it is small he has to figure how to be smart on space and think of creative ways of collapsing big installations in order for them to all fit in his car. All of his ideas began with the small felt guys and expanded from there. If it wasn't for his life choices he made his artwork would have ended up differently. Coming back to an area where he grew up affected his decision of which pieces to bring; he wanted to show a more light-hearted side or the "game" side of war instead of being all grim and upsetting. I think he did a really good job of that. His motivations came from his experiences from his eight years on the Air Force and then his schooling afterward. He also gets much motivation from the area that he is living in. He travels a lot for the fun of it and for work and that influences what he creates as well. I really enjoyed what he had to say about his work and also his experiences.

As much as he wanted to create a more playful side to the war aspect, it didn't get that vibe fully. In some of his works I understood what he was talking about, but overall it actually felt even more grim making people look more cartoon-like. I felt as if he wanted to show that when the soldiers come back from war they feel demoralized, empty, and alone; they don't/ will never feel like themselves again and that they feel like they are not in their own bodies. I was really fascinated by his installation and how much it moved me. I really felt that empty feeling you get when you know that situation like this goes on, but you don't confront it until it gets put in front you. I don't think I have any unanswered questions, but more so unmentioned comments.