| Abstract | Bubble Tournament is the culmination of 3 years and research and study at TCU’s Fine Art MFA program. The body of work is subdued and devoid of the bright colors Zeke is known for, consisting of 6 works of computer numeric control (CNC) carved birch plywood and 4 blind embossed prints on Rives BFK paper. The robotically carved plywood reveals layers of woodgrain and dark spots of burnt adhesive caused by friction when engraving. Images files were created in Adobe Illustrator. The final year of Zeke’s MFA was marked by the impact of COVID-19. The show title, Bubble Tournament, references the NBA’s “tournament bubble” held in Orlando in the summer of 2020 as the pandemic raged across the United States. Like the tournament, the exhibition cannot be seen in person by anyone outside of the TCU campus bubble. The work itself, especially the blind embossed paper prints, includes some visual bubbles, echoing these events. |
