QC APP | Art of James Dunbar

Queens College MFA Application

James Dunbar Personal Statement

I am a self-portrait artist working primarily in collage. My work is rooted in expressing internal experiences that are difficult to communicate through language Things that live more clearly in feeling than in words. Each piece is a way of understanding myself, processing emotion, and exploring identity.

I began making art seriously toward the end of high school, starting with screen printing my drawings onto clothing. That led me to study at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, where I focused on abstract self-portrait drawings, which where stream-of-consciousness ink work built from looping, intuitive lines. Those drawings allowed subconscious thoughts and emotions to surface through energy and movement rather than representation.

Four years after undergrad, I continued my studies at Brooklyn College for two semesters, where I began incorporating collage into my self-portrait work. Due to the Covid pandemic, I dropped out of Grad School. Soon after that, I experienced a period of identity loss, depression, and isolation that eventually led to a diagnosis of autism and ADHD (AUDHD). That diagnosis reframed my understanding of myself and became central to my work.

The astronaut figure emerged as a representation of that experience. The helmet functions as both protection and concealment, masking identity and filtering the outside world. When the helmet is removed, the figure becomes exposed, vulnerable, and out of place, like a fish out of water. Through these figures, I explore what it feels like to exist in environments that appear natural and fluid to others but feel chaotic, overwhelming, and disorienting to me.

Each collage begins with a foundation of photographic backgrounds. Skies, landscapes, and textures that I build into layered environments. From there, I introduce the astronaut and begin assembling imagery intuitively. I collect and create images constantly, drawing from personal photographs, internet sources, and cultural references. The process is not fully planned; meaning emerges through accumulation. Small, individual ideas come together to form a larger whole, like multiple compositions existing within a single piece.

The work often incorporates recurring symbols: books, clocks, surveillance cameras, fragments of childhood imagery, and references to philosophy, technology, and urban decay. These elements are placed deliberately, creating relationships and tensions between images. There is an ongoing balance between chaos and control. Compositions that feel expansive and overwhelming, yet carefully structured and contained.

I am drawn to contrast. Humor and darkness, nostalgia and unease, innocence and destruction. Much of my work reflects an internal landscape that has often been dismissed or misunderstood. Through collage, I am able to externalize that experience and give it form.

I do not expect viewers to interpret the work exactly as I do. Meaning is subjective. However, I hope that through sustained engagement, people can feel something familiar within it. Maybe a sense of recognition, or the realization that they are not alone in their experience.

I make art because I need to. It gives structure to my thinking, direction to my energy, and a way to exist honestly. At its core, the work is about self-expression. About removing the mask and allowing myself to be seen, even when it is uncomfortable.

Attached below are photographs of my recent works I call "AUDHD Astronauts". The About me section here on my site explains the factors that drove me to this concept. I continue to work on these self portrait collages as they help me understand my own psychology and act as a sort of therapy. Since September last year, every day has been part of my art making process. I cut, rip, and tear images I encounter and capture. Every detail has a story. Everything is personal in these collages. While the imagery is absurd, I try to provoke the viewer into finding the story hidden within the seemingly chaotic assemblage of torn paper.

Resume

FOH Manager/Bartender/Server

BC BISTRO | Floral Park, NY

June 2021 to Present

Teaching Assistant (TA)

CUNY Brooklyn College | Brooklyn, NY

December 2019 to June 2020

TA for BFA Fine Arts Students Senior Thesis under Derrick Adams at Brooklyn College. Create lessons, invoke critical

conversations and assign readings to BFA students for Senior Thesis. Inspire students to create engaging and cohesive

work. Weekly studio visits, critiques and lectures in preparation for Senior Thesis Exhibition. Experience with using zoom

for half of the semester. Virtual studio visits and critiques. Scheduling and attendance coordinating.Server/Shift Leader

The Cheesecake Factory | Boston, MA