Emery Santos

In the Middle of it • 2024

Acrylic paint, pencil, canvas

To answer the question of where I see myself in the future, I look to connect with people in a way that feels familiar and impactful, whether big or small, having that effect on others in their everyday lives; being in that middle. Looking to an inspiration of mine, artist Banksy, whose expression has become so popular, that he’s become part of the pop culture scene. Recreating the boy from his piece “Season’s Greetings,” I looked to turn that goal of ‘being in the middle of it all’ into a literal sense, by placing him in the middle of a busy NYC street, with everyone becoming so used to his art, that they just move with him.

Observation • 2025

Paper rolls, Crayola colored pencils, pencil, pigment powder applied with sponge 26” x 18”, 29” x 18”, 34” x 18”

In preparation of last year at home before looking towards college, I wanted to put my memories of home on paper. Being the last one to wake up in my house, I wouldn’t anymore come downstairs to see my family already settled into their day, or see how a certain potted plant in my house is holding up with us forgetting to water it consistently, or being woken up by my brothers in the morning, with my middle brother Max looking for my attention, and our little brother Bowie, doing anything to instigate max. Recreating this nostalgia, I used the Crayola pencils and IKEA paper rolls that were familiar to me, looking back to the childhood I’ll be growing from.

6th grade • 2024

Photos, Digital art (Procreate), storyboarding, script

To understand what it took for me to form my identity, I looked back to my 6th grade school year. Telling it in animated form, I describe how 6th grade had me confused with who I was and who I thought I’d be. But while designating myself the time to catch up on everything I had fallen behind in my life, I learned valuable lessons that had not only helped me understand my identity at the time, but that I could carry with me into the future.

where I had normally found comfort • 2024

Charcoal, manilla paper, acrylic paint, pencil

26” x 20”

I had spent one summer in high school at an out-of-state art program where I felt homesick. During the nights in bed, where I had normally found comfort back home, I had felt overwhelmed in the pitch black of my room, with all of my possessions and furniture being swallowed in the dark night. Having no sight to focus and distract myself from any homesickness, my feelings would fill my space, as the blue and brown smears do around my agitated sleeping self, who’s clinging to the bed sheet for anything to still feel attached to.

Observation • 2025

Cardboard, paper, tape, hot glue, yarn, sharpie

27” x 27” x 44” (bunny) 10” x 2” x 10” (knitted heart)

Libra Bunny • 2024

Learning that my astrological sign is Libra, I felt it strange how similar its traits were to mine. I was never such a social person in unfamiliar groups, but I was so comfortable within my own circle. So this Libra bunny, the common animal to the sign, is shy to open up and share a part of itself, its yarn heart, to anyone who comes by to greet it.