Analysis and Research

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Research, as a vital element in my artistic practice, shapes my work and informs my perspective.  I find that grounding my art in rigorous inquiry allows me to capture the intricacies of our shared human experience. I explore the complexities of contemporary life [marked by rapid technological changes, socio-political tensions, and evolving cultural narratives] through an interdisciplinary lens, synthesizing insights from art, architecture, history, science, environmentalism, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology.​​ 

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As our perceptions of reality shift, I feel a responsibility to reflect these changes through my art. Each research endeavour serves not only to inform my themes but also to challenge my assumptions. This pursuit leads me to confront complex issues—ranging from the nature of belonging to the dynamics of power. By examining diverse perspectives, I expand my own understanding of identity and community, which, in turn, enriches my artistic output. My commitment to intertwining research with artistic exploration creates a foundation for work that is not only intellectually compelling but also deeply resonant in our contemporary context. In this way, my practice becomes a vehicle for exploration and engagement, inviting both myself and my audience to reflect on the world we inhabit. ​

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My theoretical work engages with the intricate and often ambiguous realms of the unconscious, seeking to critically examine and challenge established frameworks of perception. Through this exploration, I offer perspectives that encourage new ways of seeing, feeling, and conceptualizing alternative imaginaries. This endeavour prompts a re-evaluation of epistemological boundaries, ultimately enhancing the understanding of human experience. By contributing to this dialogue, I aspire to foster a deeper appreciation for the complexities of human perception and creativity.​

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Furthermore, I am deeply interested in the fragility of marginalized languages and dialects, especially those rooted in oral traditions. These languages exist in a precarious position, often overshadowed by dominant linguistic narratives, yet they contain rich, nuanced ways of understanding the world. By emphasizing the temporary and transient nature of these dialects, my practice seeks to honour their complexities and the cultural contexts from which they emerge. Through this exploration, I aspire to evoke a reevaluation of the role that language plays in our perceptions of space and identity, fostering a deeper understanding of the intricate relationships between language, culture, and the material world.​​

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The physical work I produce [drawing, painting, sculpture, photography] is profoundly influenced by the multifaceted experiences of spatiality, particularly the dynamic interplay between the construction and deconstruction of the physical environments that delineate and inform human interaction. This focus extends to exploring how such spatial experiences shape our understanding of language and communication––utilizing language and form in a manner that anticipates their articulation while simultaneously refraining from actualizing them as fixed or stable constructs. As a result, both language and form remain in a state of latency. This phenomenon, characterized by a murmuring that resists the definitive quality of spoken or written word, highlights the inherent tension between the potential for expression and the limitations of established structures of representation.

 

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A Work-life Aesthetic

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Mine is a bricolage practice, a visual heuristic. With their unusual character, the works lend themselves to the unpredictable––and with an element of humour, refuse to accept set definitions and traditions of art. By following overt and hidden traces to establish both clear-cut and surprising links between these definitions and traditions, I explore common and contested ideas of the past’s indelible impact on our shared present.

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With this approach, I find myself engaging in a dialogue with the materials, allowing their histories and meanings to inform my artistic expression. Each piece becomes a site for storytelling, embedded with personal and collective significance. In challenging conventional notions of value and artistic integrity, I invite viewers to reflect on the narratives embedded within these select materials, to reconsider the broader implications they hold in our contemporary society. This practice reflects my artistic philosophy, mirroring my journey of finding beauty and meaning in the overlooked aspects of life.

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My sculptures and expanded paintings serve as a deeply personal exploration of the diverse subject matters, technologies, imageries, and narratives in my practice. I intentionally utilize techniques and materials that embrace craft, vernacular iconography, reclaimed utilitarian objects and symbolic references. This choice stems from a belief in the inherent value of these often-overlooked elements. By integrating discarded and undervalued items into my work, I cultivate a hybrid visual language that resonates on both poetic and critical levels. 

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Oscillating between gestural expression and strategic chance, the work explores themes of intimacy, control, and the freedom of relinquishing total control. It draws from a blend of mythologies, personal symbolism, and individual narratives, as well as collective beliefs, rituals, social fears, and desires. This work reflects a process that embodies an accumulation of associations intrinsic to my human experience. This pairing is homage to slow gestations within a multiplicity of influences that, while foreshadowing an afterlife within ruin, consider existential experiences such as the cosmological origin of the world and the associated cycles of life, death, growth and decomposition.

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The focal point of this exploration lies in the imperative to critically reassess elements that are often relegated to the margins of discourse. A central theme within this corpus of work is the differentiation among art, heritage, and what might be classified as debris. This inquiry advances substantial questions regarding the standards for preservation and the processes involved in determining what may be deemed dispensable. Such a critical framework fosters a nuanced comprehension of the intricate relationships between value, memory, and the act of creation itself, ultimately contributing to a broader dialogue about cultural significance and the politics of representation.​ The work encourages the emergence of new discourses surrounding heritage-making, ultimately revealing more complex and pluralistic perspectives on the criteria for preservation and the decisions for relinquishment that future generations may face. 

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I frequently utilize my personal biography as a foundational framework for exploration, reflecting on my experiences with displacement, disorientation, and transgenerational trauma. These experiences, while deeply personal, resonate with universal themes of rootlessness, alienation, and loss. Central to my inquiry are questions of identity: Who am I? Where do I come from? What constitutes the notion of home, and what exists beyond these parameters? Ultimately, throughout the work I contend that there exists no definitive resolution or escape from the factors that shape our identities. I explore new interpretations and narratives that aim to articulate and understand these complex phenomena. The precariousness of the work belies the physical and emotional pressure they hold, begging:  Can this stand?  Is this too heavy?  Will this endure?

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In "Structuralism and Semiotics," Terence Hawkes posits that “the true nature of things may be said to lie not in things themselves, but in the relationships which we construct and then perceive between them; not in items but in structures” (Hawkes 2004:07). This perspective serves as a foundational premise for examining my oeuvre, which navigates a complex interplay of imaginative processes and narrative relationships among the creator, the creation, and the observer. ​ Operating within the realms of the infra-ordinary, the impalpable, and the unconscious, I engage with the medium as a platform for speculative inquiry and fostering unexpected dialogues. The artwork is conceived as a site of assemblage, where stylistic tropes and references from diverse historical periods and geographical contexts converge, thereby enriching the interpretive possibilities and expanding the discourse surrounding the relationships inherent in artistic expression.

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Endeavouring to undermine simplistic interpretations of pictorial content, this approach to making is above all concerned with forging resonantly ambiguous imagistic metaphors. This ambiguity extends to the manner in which it engages the viewer in disparate ways. My intention to evoke and complicate the audience's desires, simultaneously prompts them to apply their own imaginative capacities in the interpretive process. Through an exploration of the medium's inherent multiplicity, I aim to underscore that the subject matter transcends mere visual representation. It emerges from the complex interplay of resonances and tensions that arise from the interconnection of references and formal relationships within the work.

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I am developing a body of work that features diverse protagonists, engaging with the intention to stimulate encounters and dialogue. This oeuvre articulates a broad spectrum of relationships among new and occasionally opposing concepts, attitudes, and temporal layers. By confronting the rigid constructs of social convention, I seek to provide counterarguments to the prevailing power dynamics of the status quo.

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Working against the grain, against linear time, I am slowing down, digging deeper, working through a more rarefied approach that offers opportunities to pause and reflect on the vision and philosophy that underpins my output. This involves questioning bourgeois art and how to develop a life–art aesthetic that uses creativity to instigate space for emancipatory practices, joy, and play. I am deviating from the rules, reinventing codes, and challenging procedures, pursuing a socially engaged and environmentally conscious art-life-practice.