As a staff, we spend a lot of time and consideration on the pairings between visual art and creative writing pieces. We hope that each pairing allows the individual pieces to coexist and complement each other. This is a meticulous process, but it is rewarding beyond measure.
In our Fall/Winter 2024 issue, our favorite art pairing has to be “The Effects of Seasonal Change on Floridian Coastal Wildlife” and “Florida Girl.” It is as if these two pieces were made to stand side by side on the page, despite the fact that the writer and the visual artist have never even spoken to each other. We are always thrilled when we receive creative writing and visual art submissions which complement each other so beautifully.
“The Effects of Seasonal Changes on Floridian Coastal Wildlife” by Scooter Wirth explores a compelling connection between the speaker’s personal identity and the constantly shifting nature of the environment around him. This thoughtful merging of personal culture and environmental setting speaks wonders on the writer’s upbringing and background. This piece was one of our personal favorites was we worked through the reading process.
The already present strength of this piece is only amplified by its art pairing. “Florida Girl” is a multi-medium piece of art by Hailey Edwards. Edwards took a creative and personal approach to capturing the beauty of Florida's wildlife through a collage-based painting. We were drawn to Edwards’s nuanced representation through her self-portrait overlapping an extensive map of Florida’s land mass. Her blend of the two mediums not only emphasizes the complexity of Florida’s industrialized landscape, but the connection she has to the state reaching deeper than surface level.
"From there, I was able to see the sun sink beneath the horizon for the first time, not just the ribbons of purple-orange lightning that called in wary surfers from their heaven."
In “The Effects of Seasonal Changes on Floridian Coastal Wildlife” specifically, the role of warmth and cold serves as a commentary on the writer’s physical and emotional distance between himself and his father. The descriptive symbolism of this overarching metaphor is what carries the weight of this piece. This strength is only amplified by its pairing with “Florida Girl.” The Élan staff is dedicated to lifting the voices of young artists to showcase the importance and sublimity of self-expression and character.
We loved the way that “Florida Girl” bolstered the depth of the messages present in “The Effects of Seasonal Changes on Floridian Coastal Wildlife.” The similarities between this creative nonfiction piece and this mixed media visual art piece are already gleamingly present at first glance. Both are centered around life along the coast of Florida and both are highly personal pieces of art, and their similarities extend far beyond the surface.
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