Four very different capstone projects, with focuses on conceptual tea and alcohol companies, war and fandom culture, were featured at the VAC.

The projects were featured in a reception event on Nov. 11 at 5 p.m. The students featured were Sadie Allen, Makayla Welch, Joshua Perry and Jenna Billups.

Allen created an alcohol brand, titled “Fallen Angel Liquor”, as a metaphor for mental health, trauma and whether you go to heaven or hell when you die.

She chose liquor because she said it “it tends to play a major part in everybody’s lives.”

“Some people have drinking problems, and some people know others who are controlled by alcohol,” Allen said.

According to her artist statement, Allen believes that what makes her exhibition unique is “the contrasting themes being brought only a constant style.”

Allen finished her artist statement by saying, “Fallen Angel Liquor is a heavenly brand with hellish undertones and meanings.” 

“It pushes the viewers to think more about common objects in our life that we enjoy that can push us even closer to heaven or hell,” she said.

Welch created her exhibit based on her own experiences in online fandom culture, and the parasocial relationships that come with it.

“I would cope with any chaos going on in my life by obsessing over movies, television shows and music,” she said in her artist statement. “I would watch these celebrities perform and want to be a part of their world; to experience the same things as them and befriend them.”

As she grew older, she realized that kind of attachment was unhealthy, but still realizes its impact on her life. “I have attempted to distance myself from this attachment style, but this aspect of my life has helped me discover myself,” Welch said.

However, she gained a new perspective on the project after the news of former One Direction member Liam Payne’s tragic death.

“I was able to recognize that I did not know this individual personally, yet acknowledged that what had occurred was devastating,” Welch said.

She said that her exhibit intends to “represent my own experience interacting with people online.”

With her six posters, she said she wanted them to “have equal weight when covering the different aspects of having unrestricted access to the Internet,” as per her artist statement.

Perry, who served as an Army combat engineer, suffered through an addiction and was in prison after his service.

He then turned to art, which he said has “without a doubt, saved my life, having the ability to have a voice and a safe place.”

Perry’s exhibit talked about the sugar coating of war culture in children and how no one talks about the reality of it. “My process is not to reduce the honor of serving your country, I want to address the realities of our society and outline the choices we continue to make as a people,” he said in his artist statement.

What he hopes people will take away from his work, he said, “I hope this causes our children to ask hard questions and for us to give honest answers.”

Perry ended his talk by saying, “The last few weeks have showed us that no matter which side of all of this you’re on, there is no right side.” 

Billups created a conceptual tea brand, titled “Elixir”, inspired by 1900s circus and cabaret posters.

When describing the faux brand in her artist statement, she said, “I have focused on blending modern aesthetics with key vintage visual elements to effectively represent a brand focusing on traditional flavors with a contemporary twist.”

Her main priority when creating the exhibit was bold patterns. “These patterns were the first thing that drew me to the vintage posters in the first place, but I didn’t want the design to feel too intense or artificial,” Billups said.

The most challenging part, according to her, “was to create something that stood out visually, but also felt natural and honored the material.”

Jordan Ooten can be contacted at [email protected].