Eldridge, Landin
Area of Study
Class
Education
Landin Eldridge
I Very Much Desire That You and I Become Stuffed Bunny Rabbits. 2021, 24″h x 18″w. Graphite, Sharpie, watercolor, and ink on paper
Landin Eldridge is an MFA student in painting + drawing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Landin Eldridge HeadshotLandin was born and raised in Siler City, a rural North Carolina town. She received her BA in Studio Art and Theatre at Davidson College in 2021. While at Davidson, she dipped her toes in all areas of art, participating in multiple theatrical productions (as both a designer and an actor) and singing groups, as well as working in an on-campus organization that helped provide grants for various artistic ventures. In addition, her visual artworks were featured in the Annual Student Art Show each year. She punctuated her time in undergrad with a solo show titled “Go On, Git!”
Her work thrives on community-building, seeking to involve participants in collective ridiculousness. She is most at home while making others laugh and hopes to get in plenty of comedy during her time in the program.
Artist Statement
My drawings depict absurd encounters from everyday life. I force characters to confront uncomfortable scenarios: guilt from the past, fear of the future, and humor in the present. It is almost impossible not to laugh because this combination is ridiculous and awkward. I want to capture the exact moment a good thing goes bad, extracting ideas from my memories and hinting at larger American institutions and cultural phenomena. As a rural southerner who frequently shops at Walmart after 10 pm, I am familiar with the absurdity of existence in this country.
I am obsessed with causing laughter my audience cannot control, but like anyone who works with humor, I live in fear that no one will laugh. Humor has the potential to crash and burn at any moment. The possibility of failure keeps me on edge and forces innovation.
My work would not be complete without direct interaction from audience members. I need people to laugh and feel guilty for laughing. I need people to touch my squishy sculptures and feel absence when they let go. I need to create art for a community in this idiosyncratic way, constantly risking failure for a chance at comedic poignancy.