Elliott Stokes (b. New Orleans, LA) is a visual artist based in Illinois. Stokes uses his own daily processes and rituals of making, scavenging and collecting, as an access point to investigate larger themes of materiality, labor and landscape. Materials are chosen for their aesthetic, conceptual and political possibilities, allowing a collaboration between artist and material. His studio practice consists of constructing and recreating objects and places which are reinterpreted through materialistic intervention and repositioning in various locations for reexamination. These artworks examine memory and re-creation, specifically how past history shapes the present and future outlook. Positioning his artwork between reverence and contempt of industry, specifically petrochemicals, Stokes uses this tension as a launching point for cultural examination and introspection.
