Kevan McClaflin

Describe the work you submitted for merits.

Presently, my work is not materially unitized aside from a few crucial interests, such as cyanotpyes. Conceptually though, my work heavily focuses on the notion of "identity" through the lens of familial relationships and genetic inheritance, lost cultural heritage, and the passage of time as both a revealing and reductive process. Ultimately, I see my art as a self-reflective process where I am aiming to gain a more realized understanding of myself.

What's next for your practice? Anything you're really excited to make?

I'm honestly not really sure. I think my practice is at a very transformative and pivotal point and I guess I'm not really steering the vehicle in this instance, I'm just seeing where these new developments take me. That being said, I am really fascinated with audio work and I would like to explore that as a larger component in my work!

Why did you decide to come to MCAD?

I was really taken by the facilities and the general atmosphere of the school. I have never really wanted to go to a large school, so the more intimate feeling of the MCAD community really appealed to me at the time.

Anything you're obsessed with at the moment?

I am remarkably obsessed with this song The Garden of Poppies by Ryuichi Sakamoto. It is absolutely glorious and I kind of can't stop listening to it!

What inspires you?

I am really inspired by contemporary art that I feel pushes boundaries, both materially and conceptually. At the moment, some of my favorites are Fin Simonetti, Kevin Beasley, Gaspar Willmann, Naomi Nakazato, and Valerian Goalec. Additionally, I find a lot of inspiration in looking at my own history as well as in my friends. I have always really adored that special connection between artist friends where the work begins moving in similar directions and converses beautifully together. That is very much happening with a few of my friends at the moment and I'm so excited to see where the work takes us!