STATEMENT:
My practice explores the fluidity of culture and time. I’m interested in how stories and symbols create meaning that’s passed from one society to another, transcending cultures and offering a connection between diverse viewpoints. My work employs traditional techniques and materials as a reaction to, and against, digital and AI technologies. I create concrete objects layered with properties that are imbued with historic and geographical meaning, tied to both time and place.
Each of my paintings begin with a fully rendered metal point drawing on traditional gesso ground. I’ve chosen this method to acknowledge the key role that precious metals have played in the foundation of western culture as the catalyst of global trade, capitalism, and colonialism. Ground pigments, sourced from across the globe are mixed with egg yolk and water. The paint is then applied in hundreds of semi-translucent layers using a slow meditative process that connects directly to artists of the past.
While used for thousands of years, egg tempera is most often associated with the early renaissance, an era that formed the foundation of the modern world. It’s a period that parallels our own when the introduction of innovative technologies led to wide-ranging social disruption. By returning to the medium, I hope to highlight the cyclical nature of time and our roles in shaping the coming age.