My 2001 show in Portland Oregon closed on Sept 8, three days before the events of 9/11. It was titled “Aftershock”. My painting exhibition in NY the prior year was titled “On The Beach”, from the 1959 post-apocalyptic movie and book. I showed my large abstract paintings in the main gallery space with an installation in the back project room. The installation included a floor painting , piles of pigmented sand , a performance, and some photo collages that started with sculptural set-ups I had been doing along with my large abstract paintings. After 9/11, I couldn’t paint abstractly. I needed to explore further the narrative collages, sci-fi futuristic cities containing images of fragmented iconic buildings from around the world , anime figures, a lot of cut-up paint and transparent film . Eventually after 4 years this “buddy of work” led me forward with my abstract paintings. -Sandi Slone, 2012
Buddy of Work 
“After 9/11, I couldn’t paint abstractly.”
This happened in my own work after some events and I said the exact thing about not being able to paint abstractly and needing some kind of narrative. Thanks for sharing these.