Exhibition by a student comes to an end after a week of being displayed in the College of Design.

Christian D’Cruz, senior in graphic design, displayed his exhibition “G00nD0ck Practice” in Gallery 181 in the College of Design. The exhibition started on Monday and will end today.

“As a 22-year-old student having grown up in the digital era, I am a product of the internet,” D’Cruz said. “Having had consistent connection to screens has shaped the way I view the world. I have created this work with urgency to encourage us to rethink our relationship with technology and how it affects our view of ourselves and our peers.”

The solo exhibition included mixed-media paintings on masonite, experiential monitor displays and a mural and projections created in 2019-2020. There are around 40 pieces in the exhibition.

“My work is a visual diary of thoughts and observations of the world around me,” D’Cruz said. “I fear for the future. I have experienced how our online connections have created disinterest in human connections. People are flawed, complicated, mean and distasteful. Technology gives us exactly what we want, when we want it. But; people are also passionate, kind, understanding, loving, wise, unpredictable and real. All of which technology is not. I believe in people, I have made this work to challenge us to once more get excited about that which goes beyond binary understanding. To forgo the effects of our digital lives. To embrace the idea that the value of our fellow human is worthy of preservation.”

One piece titled “Went Outside” is a mix of acrylic, alcohol marker and archival ink on masonite. It depicts an image of bright red trees on a smokey black background.

Another piece titled “When U Go Right We Go Up” is a mix of acrylic, alcohol marker and archival ink on masonite. It depicts a black and white checkered plain with colorful creatures throughout.

A different style of piece was composed of a mannequin torso with a white t-shirt over it with black spray painted designs on it. Embedded in the torso is a small screen with a beating heart. Instead of a head, there is a screen with a woman’s face on it.

Another interesting work in the exhibition was a chair set up in front of eight screens. On the screens were various images switching over time and multiple of the screens where covered in red paint.

The show also featured a collaborative painting with Iowa State alumnus Chris Vance, a nationally known artist based in Bondurant. Vance received a bachelor of fine arts in visual studies from Iowa State in 2000.

The piece created with Vance is titled “Collab I” and made from a mix of acrylic, alcohol marker and archival ink on masonite. The piece is full of various geometric shapes with red and blue colors spread throughout.

For the final day of the exhibition, gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“I see my artworks as key footnotes on an endless forward time-line,” D’Cruz said. “As the work grows so should I. In the most simple terms, I wish to share my voice. The art is the language in which I share my story. My life is a novel and these paintings are the pages.”

D’Cruz has also exhibited his work locally, including the “Studies in Creativity” and “Art Inspired” exhibitions at the Iowa State Memorial Union; Octagon Arts Festival in Ames; Waukee Arts Festival; “Limited Space II” and “Limited Space III” at the Des Moines Social Club; “Art in the Park” in Okoboji; and “Light and Dark Exhibition” at Polk County Heritage Gallery.

He is a member of the Des Moines artist collective Paintpushers, where he met Vance, which led to an internship in Vance’s studio last summer, according to the College of Design website.

D’Cruz will receive a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design in May and he said he hopes to pursue a career as a multidisciplinary artist and designer.