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HIJACKED: Puzzling Times

When I started, HIJACKED: Puzzling Times, the main idea was finding a way to keep connected with others beyond my household while trying to stay safe during the COVID-19 outbreak. I realized that many people began to rediscover the jigsaw puzzle. During the initial lock down orders in March of 2020, I also found that there were people of all ages enjoying jigsaw puzzles long before their current fad popularity. I navigated through many internet resources particularly using social media platforms to connect with others who were interested in jigsaw puzzling. Many of the people I was corresponding with were constructing jigsaw puzzles have been doing them for years. They were collecting and keeping the puzzles whole for quite some time. It was then I decided to commission and purchase from several people directly to help me acquire the puzzles I needed to complete my series.

Keeping fairly consistent with some of my past works, I wanted to try to continue my unwarranted approach on collaboration and alter the original jigsaw puzzle imagery to fit my needs to communicate my vision. Some were completely covered with paint to reveal just the texture of the puzzle pieces and other times I left portions of the original artwork exposed to create a new narrative. I collected 32 completed puzzles and produced 19 completed works. Most of the work is themed around television, my connection to the ocean, and Colorado.