Artist Statement
Artist Statement
I do not try to record the world exactly as I see it. It is my goal to create an internal experience with the camera and photo-based media. While I draw my inspiration from the photographers Stieglitz, Minor White and Ernst Haas, I am also drawn to the classic and contemporary painters of Turner, Kandinsky and Rothko. I am seduced by the emotional effects of light. I, therefore, taught myself to paint with this ethereal element, made permanent with the camera. I have created six series that include abstract landscapes that are minimalist and poetic, reminiscent of abstract land, desert, and seascapes. The abstract expressionist series: Distillation, is a body of work of layered composite photographs that have a painterly quality influenced by the abstract expressionists. I use a synesthetic approach to art making where I incorporate the five senses into my process.
Distillation Series: Portfolio Introduction
Visual perception is saturated with experiences from all the senses whilst our perception of the world around us is, too often, informed by our vision in the strictest sense of the word. The Distillation series is a visual representation of the mind attempting to portray the solid evidence of the internal world. The Works are ways of seeing and forms of visual thinking that make the mental space of an image real. My work is inspired by abstract expressionism and explores a sensorial journey into inner space. The process employs phenomenological light and the interconnectedness of perception of the mind and the actions of the body to evoke metaphor, feelings, and memories that allude to cross sensory associations and experiences. I hope to transport the viewer from an observer to participant where they use their eyes as gateways to experience the visual elements of each piece with the other senses in their own regard.
