Chris Wade

Madison-based Alabama artist Chris Wade’s mesmerizing drawings are interpretations of his dreams of abandoned space rockets. Letting his childlike imagination run wild, he creates meticulously detailed images of solitary spaceships subsumed by trees alongside pictures of vast treehouse cities made up of the rockets. Involved with NASA’s space camp for kids in Huntsville, Wade’s familiarity with skyrockets brings both precision and authenticity to his imagery.

The drawings narratively follow a progression that parallels his own experiences, tracking the journey of finding healing from his past, as well as a deeper discovery of who he is, while capturing a renewed sense of innocence. Although highly personal, Wade’s drawings deal with universal concerns. Centering around rockets as a symbol of one’s dreams and purpose, Wade’s rockets with branches piercing their skins and growing through them symbolize unresolved issues in one’s life that have the potential to halt progress. As the series progresses, more hopeful images emerge as he explores the potential that is buried within, left completely intact, waiting to be discovered.