"The Sum of All Parts (Moving Forward)" pays homage to the past experiences and people that have contributed to where I am today. The mountain references a place that in my formative years became an environment where many coming-of-age experiences occurred. The people and objects all represents individuals or groups of people that were once very much in my life or still play a large role in my life. The process became a very nostalgic way to appreciate what I've had while thinking about where life is going. Materials include wood, dirt, Pink Panther insulating foam, and oil paint.

When I was around the age of eight years old, I really thought I had it figured out. Bite the bullet and live with my parents for ten more painful years and then I was going to buy my own house to live in and I would never have to listen to rules again. My idea around then about what my life was going to be like was very different than the way things ended up. I idolized Michael Jordan, heavily because of watching Space Jam, and was sure I would be a professional basketball player when I grew up. I always knew I wanted a Coca-cola water fountain, and my own jacuzzi, no other option. I loved diving boards, and decided I should have my own pool. In my mind, I was creating my future dreamhouse which seemed more than reasonable to obtain.

What do you do?

What’s your five year plan? Ten year? Retirement?

Maybe if you are lucky you will end up a rich man with a beautiful wife.

This installation imagines and builds a high profile lawyer's from the artist's stereotyped and preconceived ideas. The installation questions societal constructs and pressures surrounding Ivy League Culture, family dynasty,privilege, 9 to 5 job security, monetary and material milestones, self critique, and teenage and childhood nostalgia amongst others.

The Kickapoo was an experimental classroom and gallery space that I opened in Stueben, WI while an artist in residence at ACRE in August 2015. When fellow residents, staff and visiting artists/curators were invited to sign up for drawing classes they were provided with no other information than to bring a bathing suit. Two types of classes were offered, still-life and portraiture. Students were encouraged to explore the medium of drawing while tubing down the river on specially configured tube rafts. Classes lasted approximately 30 minutes while I guided the floating classroom safely around the rocks and sticks of the Kickapoo. The project culminated with an opening exhibition of student work displayed along the river on Thursday August 13th, 2015.

The weekend warrior, rad dad, coach, or the weirdo down the street, everyone has one, everyone grew up around one. They exude passion, tenacity, excitement, some may even say they found the fountain of youth, not letting themselves be confined by the trials and tribulations of middle age and societal constructs. Regular things like the 9 to 5 lifestyle, parenting, office culture, or money issues that have the ability to turn most adults into shells of their former selves are taken in stride while they continue on. In the “Road to Rio”, Eassa creates a character that exists within a no frills olympic training facility through painted sculpture. It tells the story of Dad following what is considered to be the most elite sporting event in the world in his own way. In solidarity, the Dad has built his own renditions of traditional Olympic disciplines like the pole vault, track and field, shot putt, archery, and gymnastics in a way that utilized the materials from his immediate environment, suburbia. Utilizing empty Heineken mini kegs from the block parties as a shot putt, old plywood for his archery target, and over time as he fathered 5 children, he stole enough plastic balls from the McDonald’s playplace to fill a landing pit for the pole vault. The “Road to Rio” allows the Dad to train with the elite while praising and questioning the idea of mediocrity, individuality, the working class, patriarchy, elitism, amongst others. Eassa’s work consistently questions the societal constructs surrounding himself and others, exploring how he exists within these constructs, known or unknown, on his own terms.