Artist Statement

 

            As someone who endures anxiety, when issues arise it is often difficult to analyze how I feel. I tend to suppress these difficult moments and internalize them. They usually arise when I am searching for a topic of inspiration for my art.  As a result, whether for intentional cathartic purposes or not, my work is most powerful for me during its creation. The struggle of identity, communication and the passage of time often become the subject. Yet, when you scan my work you find that some of my pieces contain delicate shading, muted colors and ambiguous psychological tones while other have aggressive color, high contrast and a blatant message. This diversity is intentional.

            The works of this series showcase this variety well. Angle Angel is the optimistic piece of the series. It presents bright, sharp whites and ethereal pale blues within the repeated forms of creased paper. Then there is Button Cross. A piece coupled with a poem entitled “Shadows,” Button Cross’ intention is to represent the mid-tones of a gradation scale and a focus lens. These two pieces progress to a stop-motion short called Game Night. This one-minute film briefly presents the frivolous, tense, fragile and seemingly hopeless atmosphere of world politics. As a whole the series communicates the complex nature of living in the real world; a world not of black and white but of shades.
            My art is a by-product of my attempts to understand the passage of time, of the world outside my narrow parameters and how it affects those I love. It is my earnest attempt to show the variety of the human experience. Nina Katchadourian repeatedly addresses these issues as exemplified in her pieces The Nightgown Pictures and Accent Elimination. She incorporates her parents both directly and indirectly while exploring, in both figurative and literal means, the origins of her parents and how much of them she possesses. Likewise, I tend to focus heavily on visually interpreting my personal experiences. By using various tools and techniques, by constantly exploring methods and trying to understand my processes, I aim to not be stationed at a point of a scale. I hope to encompass the entire gradation; to provide a complete range. My work is myself.