Artist Statement

With this piece, I aimed to have viewers question the sensationalism of criminals through the media by drawing them in with a silly and comedic style. Criminals are often monumentalized despite egregious acts, which only cause pain for victims and lead to future criminals looking up to these figures. The crime included in this piece is clearly humorous but through this less serious crime, I aimed to explore the sensationalization of serious criminals such as seen in the recent “Dahmer” Netflix series. Why do we tend to remember the names of the criminals, yet not their victims? What part do media companies and social media play in this? And what can be done to remove the platforms given to the aforementioned criminals? These are some of the questions I hope to have viewers consider through this piece. While true crime and other similar media is incredibly entertaining (I enjoy a great bit of true crime myself too!) it is nonetheless important to avoid sympathizing with many of the people seen to be committing those crimes. As much as this may seem obvious to some, most people do find themselves sympathizing with these individuals in some capacity through series such as “Dahmer” that sensationalize the story. By all metrics this is unfair to the victims, and family of the victims being portrayed.