In her work Russel always looks for the absurd and the unfamiliarity of everyday life, which she researchers through interactions with people. She likes to explore that what seems unusual to her, yet normal to others. Interested in the demographical changes and the influences of this in divers neighborhoods, she interacts with people living in those areas. At first these peoples are strangers, but while working with them and listening to their stories the acquaintance grows, and Russel translates this into her drawings.

Get The Connection is the result of Russel’s first project in New York. Russel picked Bedfort-Stuvesant for this venture, because she lived her in 2003 and felt the current adjustment of class and ethnicity were a perfect fit for her projects. She conducts numerous interviews to document the ever changing landscape and its effects on the neighborhood. Looking at Russel’s work, you discover several layers: the observation of daily life, the interpretation of these experiences and the artist’s fantasy about what else might be part of that world.

In this exhibition Russel not only expands her working field, but also shows new ways of using the exhibition space and the placement of the drawing within. The new drawings are a step further in a more extrovert approach. It appears as if the drawings are floating against the walls, creating a sort of three-dimensionality. In this way the viewer is even more unable to escape Russel’s observation.

In Get The Connection the viewer enters in the artist’s space revealing her interest and ideas in a specific world. She invites the audience to be part of her perspectives without pinpointing or attempting to convince you to believe in a certain doctrine. As the title indicates Russel is looking for connections between people, which she decodes in her drawings to create a dialogue with her audience.