SU alumna launches online art installation entitled ‘Tabascian’

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Stuck inside during quarantine, Lauren Hillard, whose artist name is Kiwi.Tabasco, needed a way to decompress. So she started to create more art, a hobby that has always been a part of her life.

Hillard, a Syracuse University alumna, joined TikTok in March to share her works and to connect with followers. She debuted her first art installation “Tabascian” online at 7 p.m. Friday. The event included a signature cocktail Hillard created for the show, a tour of her artwork and a Q&A session.

“Tabascian” includes uploaded artwork Hillard made by hand. Through the app Artsteps, which allows users to host virtual exhibitions, Hillard displayed her work so guests feel as though they’re actually in an art gallery. The app also allows guests to go back and view the installation at a later date.

One piece that’s on display is “Frank and Fran,” which Hillard described as a complementary piece that demonstrates “that aspect of yin and yang,” she said. The subjects — Frank and Fran — allow the viewers to determine for themselves what it means to be feminine or masculine.

“They can both be masculine, they can both be feminine,” Hillard said. “Two things can fundamentally be the same for their small characteristics that makes them stand apart and unique from one another.”

Hillard hopes to convey through her first art installation new ways of looking at and interpreting life. Her work is abstract art presented in a variety of mediums, mostly acrylic paint on canvas and paper.

Sacoiya Johnson, who follows Hillard on TikTok, said many of her artworks are abstract and can be viewed in various ways depending on one’s perspective.

“Her pieces of art can be interpreted in so many different ways,” Johnson said. “With the abstractness, you could see a character, you see a dog, you could see a cat, you can see a lightning bolt, you can see a tree, a car (or) like anything. The artwork can literally be anything.”

TikTok is the main platform on which Hillard has built a community. Hillard’s account features many forms of social distancing activities, including fashion, fitness and arts and crafts.

By posting her artistic process on TikTok — from buying canvas to completing the pieces — Hillard has created a community that’s eager to see the creation of art and start their own artistic journey, said Ty Mays Kelty, who is helping Hillard with the installation.

Kelty appreciates that Hillard posts and livestreams the artmaking process from “concept through completion” because it helps build a community and inspire others through her creativity, she said.

Hillard also posts the art supplies she’ll use for a project beforehand, along with her sketches. She streams the painting process late into the night if she’s not finished, Kelty said.

Kelty believes Hillard’s virtual art show will reach a much larger audience than if she hosted an in-person installation.

“A lot of times, when you do an exhibition locally, your audience is local. But doing it online, allows you to present your work in front of a much broader audience,” Kelty said. “I think that that will be a major boost for her, her first time out of the gate, that she will have an audience that represents such a large part of the world.”