Psychology Through Cars: Momentum Artist Trami Thi

Trami Thi, OKC

Trami Thi, Portrait of a Parking Lot, Oil on Paper, 33"x44"

Q: Tell us about your subject matter.

Trami Thi: The cacophonous, mechanical sounds of cars honking and breaking as they line up amidst one another during traffic hour is what drew me to paint these structures to communicate the loneliness and isolation of the human condition. In this century, there is no denying that cars have become an essential part of American life, representing the need for technological advances to represent a more effective and efficient lifestyle. 

Living in urban environment I cannot help but noticing that though people are all living within close vicinity of one another, there are invisible boundaries that keep people apart. Questions arise as to what people seek in one another. Because of growing technological advances, people are able to eliminate things in their lives that are not useful.  In my car series, I seek to find ways to visually simulate human psychological states through investigating cars in the natural states they are found.

Q: Why oil on paper? 

Thi: In “Portrait of a Parking Lot”, I wanted to capture the continuous rows and rows of cars stretching in a never-ending directions. Each car had a designated space within a yellow painted line represents people’s fear of intimacy. I made it a point to return to this parking lot to make an onsite painting of every car I see. I paint on paper because it is lightweight and easy to transport for painting on site. 

Biography:

Trami Thi was born in 1988 in Oklahoma City. She started her fine arts studies at Oklahoma City University. She moved to Baltimore, MD to complete her BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. Although she works mainly in oil paints, she also works with sculpture, printmaking, and installation. She has displayed work in Baltimore, MD; Brooklyn, NY; Estelli Nicaragua; Limay, Nicaragua; and Oklahoma City, OK.

Momentum Tulsa opens October 8 with live music, performance and visual art by 57 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until October 27 at Living Arts of Tulsa, 307 E Brady. Learn more or buy tickets here.