2026 Senior Exhibition Artists 2026 Senior Exhibition Artists: Ren Hawley

About Ren Hawley

Take 3 

Ren is a jack of some trades, master of few. They hate drawing, but will explore many other routes to bring their visions to life. Indigo Skullone is also an artist if we consider necromancy to be an art form. He is a demon sent to wreak havoc on earth and consume the world’s souls, all with the bombastic energy of a European hair metal guitar solo. 

Indigo Skullone comes from the mind of Ren. Sir Skullone of the Dead is the part of Ren that often stays hidden, cranked up to 11. Yes, this one does go to 11. Sometimes Ren creates art as themself, but more often, it is through Indigo that they bring their ideas into the world.

Statement

Within my capstone, the guiding line is resilience. Each work I make and develop in relation to it is about rejecting being made to feel afraid and depressed, whatever one’s circumstances may be. Indigo is already a rebellious persona who takes what he wants. But even he knows there’s more to life than morbid hedonism, though he doesn’t want anyone to know he knows that.

There is a power in being able to take what you want. If the thing you want is something that’s already yours, then nothing can stop you. In Indigo’s case, this tends to manifest as villainy. Though the villainy is a cartoonish act of rebellion, would it surprise anyone to know that this quality isn’t limited to evil? Sometimes you need that kind of spirit when you have been told in many ways that your life is not yours. There is a kind of freedom to beautifully flaunting your pain and imperfections like they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, because it’s always indicative of something bigger. That’s the through line of my work, in and out of drag.