Each morning during the COVID-19 pandemic, Crown found herself meditating on the Japanese proverb “a Monogoto niwa taitei ura no ura ga aru mono da,” which translates to “In most things generally there is a reverse to the reverse.” Every day has a night. Every month has periods of darkness and the brightness of a full moon. This is the cycle of the universe, and we need to be resilient, to push on, to see both sides.

This daily intention sparked REVERSE SIDE, a series of paintings that eventually became the center of Crown’s EMANARE installation. The canvases integrate the text from the Japanese proverb with swatches of color reminiscent of the ASPEN MAP paintings, as well as the underside of a patchwork quilt. There is no right or wrong side. Each side has a counterpart and a story to tell.