"Are They Looking at Me?" Laken Emerson

Laken Emerson, Fort Smith, AR

Are They Looking at Me?, 2026

Ceramic

8.25 x 4.75”

Are They Looking at Me? is part of a larger body of work that reflects on the universal fear of being observed and desire to be noticed. This sculpture in particular, the four faces facing four directions, the eyes swinging and turning around the room, is a conduit for the “psychic connections that bind people, that transcend time and space” (Bell Hooks): there is the basic and vain fear that we are being observed when we don’t wish it, and the hope that someone else is seeing when something, joyful or evil, happens to us. Do they see the risky fashion choice? Do they see the crimes committed against me? Do they care? This work has become a meditation on witnessing and who holds the responsibility. Yes, they can see you. Are they watching?