Sheila Drefahl’s exhibit “There is much pain in this world but not in this room” in Union South’s Gallery 1308 includes dozens of paintings of viral images.
Drefahl embarked on “There is much pain in this world but not in this room” after seeing positive responses to the usage of pop icons in her previous pieces. One piece depicts a fuzzy creature sitting next to a large strawberry with a bite taken out of it. In a nonsensical pop culture reference to the song “Life is Good” by rapper Future, text at the top of the painting says “CHILLIN ON A” while text at the bottom reads “A WEEKEND LIKE USUAL.”
“I think I’m just really drawn to digital culture,” Drefahl said. “I mean, everyone relates to it these days.”
Drefahl finds inspiration for her work in mundane online scrolling. This process leads to her painting both viral images like a horse captioned “We’re so back” and a UW–Madison student passed out with a bag of Doritos.
“I have a folder in my camera roll where I collect things whenever I see them,” she said. “I think the things I paint feel like they are kind of taking a screenshot of the way that people interact online.”
Drefahl said she tries to pick out subject matter based on how accessible and comprehensible the meme is for a general audience. One painting of hers that didn’t make the cut depicted a girl dressed as an Oompa Loompa from the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience, which she said she felt was too niche.
This dedication to accessibility led to animals being a common theme in the exhibition.
“I think that a lot of my pieces center around people sharing things online through animals,” Drefahl said.
Drefahl’s work was selected by the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s art committee (WUDArt) from among dozens of exhibit proposals for display in Union South. According to WUDArt advisor Tony Wise, the committee considers relevance and uniqueness when choosing exhibitions.
Drefahl said she was honored to be selected by WUDArt.
“At first I was shocked,” she said. “A couple years ago I used to volunteer for [WUDArt] and I would do the install.”
Drefahl said that for her next project, she would like to make a functional art object.
“I’ve been doing more ceramics this summer, I want to work in oil, I want to do more large works,” she said. “I also like painting really fast and being messy and not giving a fuck.”
“There is much pain in this world but not in this room” will remain on display through Sept. 12 in Gallery 1308 on the 1st floor of Union South, which is open 8am - 10pm.
Oliver Gerharz is the arts editor and former podcast director for the Daily Cardinal. He is a journalism major and former host of the Cardinal Call. Follow him on Twitter @OliverGerharz.
