Craig Boagey's Nests of Internet References Thread the Line Between Desire and Horror

"The internet encourages a form of assemblage, where users collect images, memes, and bits of information under particular themes. In the Tumblr era, this practice was referred to as a user's "aesthetic"; more recently, on TikTok, this indexing is marked by the suffix "-core" (as in cottagecore). This impulse finds its outlet on every social media platform, from Instagram's "saved" tab to platforms dedicated to such collections, like Are.na or Pinterest."

"To see someone else's curated hoard is a very personal kind of poetry. It's also a kind of folk art: There are recognizable forms, a movement for a certain kind of reference. And yet, these aesthetic assemblages aren't often critically examined. Few, if any, are questioning the message embedded in a mood board. What is its history, context, medium, or intent?"

Internet-driven assemblage practices collect images, memes, and snippets into themed hoards, once called a user's "aesthetic" and now labeled with "-core" suffixes. Social platforms and specialized sites enable personal, poetic collections that function as folk art with recognizable forms and shared references. Few of these mood boards receive critical scrutiny about their history, context, medium, or intent. Craig Boagey's solo exhibition at Amanita transforms disposable internet ephemera into painted assemblages, treating them as cultural documents and producing compositions that evoke a falling empire, saturated in likes and heart reacts. The All Thing (2025) features a giant pink paw dominating the canvas.

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