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artist statement |
| As a lithographer, I am accustomed to constructing images as independent layers of transparent color, each forming an integral part of a unified whole. It was a natural extension to take this approach of layering when turning to more direct mixed-media works. The immediacy of working directly allowed me to quickly discard the notion that these layers must be visually aligned or rationally connected. This approach to image making is most often an immediate, impulsive process of action and reaction as many divergent ideas and elements come together. The creative process is, for me, a continual search for meaning, purpose and identity. In such a search, it is useful to consider the smaller, integral componenets of fundamental understandings. I sometimes regard the array of events, memories, imaginings and emotions that make up my own experience as distinct, singular elements, or as individual 'words' that can be considered independently or combined to form larger meanings. My art draws significantly from personal, family and political history, often incorporating appropriated photographic or illustrative elements, in the belief that an understanding of one's identity is informed in part by an examination of one's heritage. The juxtaposition of individual, disconnected elements and layers of visual information can suggest a narrative, joining diverse ideas and emotions and providing a vehicle for social, cultural or political self-examination. |
