Same Same

Cathedral Hall, Jersey City, NJ

When Danny DeBlasio and I returned from SE Asia after doing The YALL Art Project in Thailand & Cambodia, we wanted to take some time to reflect and create a body of work together while we processed our trip. In this series, I painted a piece in response to each of Danny’s photographs taken on our journey. We were able to hang the entire show at Cathedral Hall in Jersey City, NJ and have an opening to raise awareness about our project.  We also sold our student’s prints at the opening which 100% of the proceeds went back to their schools in Thailand and Cambodia.

“Same Same” is a common phrase in SE Asia, sometimes heard as “Same Same, but different.”  While difficult to perfectly define, “Same Same” is mostly used to express when two seemingly different things are ultimately the same. 

The phrase SAME SAME was the title for this collection for several reasons.  We of course wanted to give a nod to the culture that this work is based on. But even more so, one of the biggest takeaways from our experience in SE Asia was that while we experienced many cultural differences on the surface, we were more aware of how we are all the same.  We were touched by how easy it was to access the common connection of the human spirit despite cultural and language barriers. The human experience, no matter the culture, is ultimately Same Same, but different.

Further, the paintings are directly inspired by the photographs and each pairing is hanging side by side.  Each of Catherine’s paintings are a response to the moments captured in Danny’s photographs through the lens of how those moments (and SE Asia in general) felt to her.  So each pairing of a photograph and painting are ultimately Same Same, but different.

And finally, creating a show in this manner is also a direct nod to the process of the Yall Art Project.  In each project we completed in SE Asia, we began by teaching the students photography and later created paintings and a mural using their photographs as an inspirational launching point for the paintings.  So the personal journey we went through to create this show and the process that we teach our students are ultimately Same Same, but different. By creating paintings using Danny’s photographs as a launching point, I had a chance to personally explore the magic between translating a photograph into a painting in order to better serve how I lead that transition during our projects.  What I discovered is that it’s very different to paint from a photograph that captured a moment I also experienced and felt. It wasn’t just about translating what I was seeing (like drawing from photographs can often be) but I was also able to draw what I was feeling in that moment.