Willoughby Sinn

Bio

When Willoughby isn’t nurturing plants, friends, or themselves, they can be found wandering outside, usually drawing or journaling. They currently attend Northern Arizona University and have considered so called Flagstaff, their home for the past four years. Set to graduate soon with a Bachelors in Art Education, they have found that their interests lie in multiple mediums from oils and watercolor to pastels and ink. When creating, their themes are inspired by the dramatics of ever evolving relationships. And in the instances of clarity, their art grapples with balancing identity and healing while yearning for more. 

Artist statement

The queer existence is one that can be so lonely, even in spite of the communities that we as queer people build to combat these feelings. My artwork touches on this emotion of isolation that comes from the experience of living a queer life, where heartbreaks, friendships, family, and love don’t follow the intended story. Even within our communities, there can be a lack of understanding of each other’s experiences that begs the question: how do we move forward in ever changing and unpredictable times together? There is a frustrating narrative that is pervasive in our society; that as marginalized people my siblings and I must be always just and always grateful to the establishments and institutions who graciously decide our rights for us (granted we’re wealthy and/or white enough). In light of this, it’s obvious that our community needs a radical change; to stop waiting to be given dignity and instead start making it ourselves.

 Within my artwork, I represent these personal feelings of loneliness through various symbols of yearning. When overwhelmed, I watch the ravens and crows, finding peace when observing or drawing them. And when my identity becomes misplaced, I draw stars and the sun. I’ve been working mostly in oil paint which provides the freedom to be expressive and loose with my brushstrokes. The abstraction of these ideas and representations appeals to the freedom for the viewer to interpret whatever narrative resonates with them. Viewers having independence when appreciating artwork is important in my philosophy. Rather than spelling out a meaning, the viewer should be able to draw their own conclusions as an encouraging invitation to be creative.

Willoughby Sinn Poems

half empty

porous, you filled me with ink drops

left on the floor

still

i haven’t cried about you.

n

tainted by the stench of burnt flies

rubbing off on me, for years unending,

the smell of insecurity has me stomach sick;

unable to eat from gracious hands and

unable to say yes when asked

will you be loyal to me?

found

humming a lover’s mantra

i lied bathed in red

so scared to once again

dissipate

three point five mg of aspen

give me bruise painted lips

that stain our knees and spines;

give me bandaids over shots

sipping drops

from syringe piles;

give me chipped nails

with scratched and bitten skin,

have no doubt;

yours.