Time Flies 2021

Editor: Kayla Mahaffey’s “Time Flies,” created in 2021 using acrylic paint, really grabbed my attention. There's a serious realism in the portrait's face that contrasts wildly with the cartoonish imagery erupting from… within? What is happening here? What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, first off, that question mark hovering above the face is totally apt! It’s as if Mahaffey has peeled back the neat façade we present to the world, revealing the absolute circus of thoughts and emotions raging inside. I see nods to the anxieties and bizarre coping mechanisms that have defined the last few years: the masked figures, the manicured hand emerging to pour… is that sanitizer? But beyond the surface, to me, the work touches upon our shared humanity of inner turmoil with real wit and compassion. The tension of this work, what does it whisper to you? Editor: Definitely anxiety! And a need for some serious spring cleaning! This image feels really timely for many of us who went through major existential stress during the last few years. All the uncertainty makes the artist’s cartoon elements very approachable. Does that make sense? Curator: It makes perfect sense. The whimsical characters act like a spoonful of sugar to help the heavy medicine of the portrait go down. And what about the materials – is it right to categorize this work under the label “painting?” Editor: That’s a good point. I noticed it's acrylic, but it's not on canvas. Perhaps this piece has some relation with design works for video game or comics. It really shows in the composition with all the graphic shapes. Curator: It truly does. All right! It makes the old Renaissance debate around "disegno" and "colore" feel utterly prehistoric! Now, what did you learn while analysing it? Editor: I’ll be paying more attention to contemporary painters using those ‘new media’ composition tricks for narrative construction, like Kayla Mahaffey here! Curator: Fantastic. For me, I'm constantly fascinated by how artists grapple with our inner lives. And Mahaffey’s "Time Flies" feels like a strikingly accurate, if slightly madcap, depiction of the current moment.