'Alien Invasion!' Artist Decodes Brookfield Library Gallery Exhibit

BROOKFIELD, CT — Space aliens are once again all the rage, and sightings are on the rise in Connecticut, as worried experts and concerned military analysts stroke chins and puff pipes, poring over the latest unexplainable phenomena.

Happily, there'll be none of that at "Alien Invasion!," an exhibit of extraterrestrial portraiture by illustrator Pamela Hanks at The Brookfield Library Art Gallery through May 30. There, the Little Green Men come in all colors and sizes, and whimsy wins over existential interstellar dread (as it always should).

The aliens first landed in Hanks' life while she was illustrating the children's book "The Monster Under Jacob's Bed" in 2020. The artist's first draft of a monster wasn't cutting it for the publishers "because it was kind of just a blob," she said. Hanks then proceeded to "brainstorm different monsters," and did a sketch of a critter with multiple eyes.

"And I thought, 'that looks like an alien. What if I did some aliens?'"

So she painted an online gallery of aliens for family and friends, experimenting with acrylics for the first time. In the course of falling down that alien rabbit hole, the artist realized where all the creatures and all those many-tentacled eyeballs came from.

"It had a lot to do with my family," the Portland, CT, resident explained. "I have (5) kids who are neurodiverse — ADHD, autistic, OCD. The aliens became this. The aliens have a lot going on in their heads. Sometimes it's hard for them to focus. They feel like they can multitask all the time. But they're just trying to live their lives, even though they've got attention all over the place, inside their heads."

Libraries across the state have stepped up their games in recent years, making deep and frequently refreshed exhibits like Brookfield's "Alien Invasion!" more the norm. Hanks hopes the efforts by Connecticut libraries won't go unappreciated by residents.

"Isn't that so cool to be able to go to the library and see things in person? It's kind of the difference between listening to something on Spotify, or being live at a concert for that same group."

To be able to exhibit artwork offline, in the real world, is a game changer for artists like Hanks. Art viewed on a phone or computer screen loses its scale, and when it comes to monsters and robots, size matters.

"For the monster exhibit, I created some nefarious robots, and I was taken aback by how cool they looked in person," Hanks said.

Social media has been a boon to Hanks, especially during the pandemic. But it also brought its own brand of dangers. She said she is still trying to figure out the right mix of Facebook and Instagram as indispensable promotional tools versus insidious times wasters.

"It's a struggle, because I could spend all my time on social media. But then I wouldn't get to do any artwork. And then I could spend all my time doing artwork, but then nobody would know, because I hadn't put it on social media," she said. Her days are "a little bit of self-discipline and a little bit of staying on task, and not getting distracted by the algorithms whose job it is to distract you."

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Hanks said she believes space aliens exist, but that first contact isn't right around the corner, and she's not anticipating her ET artwork will be switching from acrylics to photography anytime soon.

Not that it would matter. Her work is not about "aliens as others," but aliens as us, she said. "Except they have eyeballs sticking out of their heads."

The public is invited to attend the exhibition reception on Saturday, April 22 from 2 to 4 p.m. in The Brookfield Library Art Gallery. Hanks will give an Artist Talk and Demo at 2:30 p.m.

The Brookfield Library Art Gallery is located in the Library's Community Room and is open during the Library’s regular operating hours. Visitors should check in at the circulation desk before entering the Gallery. A virtual version of the exhibition is available on The Brookfield Library’s website.