A R T I S T STATEMENT
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with popular sci-fi and fantasy – pop culture. As a result, imagery that includes geometric machinery mixed with biomorphic shapes and figures often appears in my work. When I make artworks, I usually imagine a world where the dimensions between reality and fantasy are fusing together and I attempt to convey the feeling of the familiar and the alien joining together. To create this fusion, I generally use the human figure to serve as a grounding in reality because I feel we can relate more closely to an image of ourselves.
To create the fantasy, I use embellished abstract backgrounds to serve as the foreign – something not readily understandable. These works are generally collage because I feel the act of constructing something tangible from an assortment of different parts effectively parallels the nature of fantasy. Collage is also the most effective way to combine illustrations, papers, and paints. Even if a work is done using only paints and inks, I still consider it a collage because the imagery itself conveys a disconnection and reassembly.
I’m influenced by the work of Zak Smith, Jenny Seville and Gustav Klimt. Recently I have also been inspired by the formal qualities of the street art I see while riding the D.C Metro system. I try to incorporate these qualities into my work because it is part of the world where I live; it helps merge fantasy of strange, unfamiliar imagery into our daily reality.
To create the fantasy, I use embellished abstract backgrounds to serve as the foreign – something not readily understandable. These works are generally collage because I feel the act of constructing something tangible from an assortment of different parts effectively parallels the nature of fantasy. Collage is also the most effective way to combine illustrations, papers, and paints. Even if a work is done using only paints and inks, I still consider it a collage because the imagery itself conveys a disconnection and reassembly.
I’m influenced by the work of Zak Smith, Jenny Seville and Gustav Klimt. Recently I have also been inspired by the formal qualities of the street art I see while riding the D.C Metro system. I try to incorporate these qualities into my work because it is part of the world where I live; it helps merge fantasy of strange, unfamiliar imagery into our daily reality.
