"Cartoons have always been special to me, and I even considered becoming a cartoonist," Kayla Mahaffey told us in our Fall 2021 Quarterly. "Later, I saw the work it took to become one, and said I’ll stick to paintings that don’t move. Maybe that’s why I try to add motion into my still concepts." When looking at her new solo show, Remember the Time, opening at Thinkspace Projects on September 18th, there is a perfect combination of cartoon and fine art, motion and stillness that make her works continue to grow. 

Thinkspace Projects is honored to present Kayla Mahaffey’s latest solo show, Remember the Time. Mahaffey examines the language of nostalgia in this collection of large-scale new works on canvas.

Summer days, children playing, neighborly love, peace…quiet. Nostalgia creates a shroud of positivity, coating childhood memories and glossing over the rougher moments. Although past chaos and hate have always been present, there is a shared recollection of peaceful times. Mahaffey examines this cyclical phenomenon in ‘Remember the Time,’ acknowledging that though we are in the midst of a difficult time, heavily influenced by generations before, there is value in the sugar-coated nostalgia as well.

“There have been numerous occasions where we omit the truths of our past to only be met with the disappointments of the future," Mahaffey says. "An never ending cycle that has influenced our current era for the best and the worst. Even though we’re currently going through a very troubling era, let’s take a moment to remember those times where we felt the most safe or where we felt the happiest. Many of us wish to go back to that life, but not to change anything, but to feel a few cherished things, once again.”