Waking Up Transparent, 2006

In her series, My Life as a Sim, Stacia Yeapanis explores the simulated-reality computer game The Sims 2. Yeapanis is on the cutting edge of new media, innovating new approaches to the creation of art. Through her work, we explore the existential significance of entertainment media and how it can shape our concept of identity.

Regarding her project, Yeapanis remarks, "My initial interest stemmed from the nature of the game, in which players pursue their own purposes and perform their own subjectivity by using their avatars [Sims] as extensions of themselves. Gameplay becomes an ongoing negotiation of the self. There's no way to win the game unless you perceive that you've won."

Pigment Print
Image Size: 10 x 13 inches
Paper Size: 11 x 14 inches
Edition of 25 + 5 Artist Proofs
Signed and numbered by the artist

Stacia Yeapanis (b. 1977, Newport News, Virginia) is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and writer living in Chicago, Illinois. She received a BA in German from Oberlin College and an MFA in Studio Art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. Her work is included in the rotating Midwest Photographers Collection and the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago. Stacia Yeapanis was a 2011-2012 Artist-in-Residence and a 2012-2013 Mentor-in-Residence at Chicago Artists’ Coalition’s BOLT Residency. She has had many solo exhibitions at venues such as Siena Heights University (Michigan, 2013) Heaven Gallery (Chicago, 2014); Indianapolis Art Center (Indianapolis, 2017); Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery (Palos Hills, Illinois, 2018); and Kent State, Stark (North Canton, Ohio, 2019). Stacia’s most recent solo show was The Thin Line Between One Thing and Another, at Finlandia University (Hancock, Michigan) in January 2020. Yeapanis was one of three artists whose work was included in MP3: Volume II: Midwest Photographers Project, copublished in 2009 by Aperture and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago. Stacia Yeapanis guides weekly interviews with artists for the OtherPeoplesPixels blog and is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Fiber and Material Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.