The assemblage and altered book works explore personal and cultural issues of sexuality, masculinity, race, gender, and humor and more universally the human thought process – how our brains take in information, select, collect, rearrange, interpret and come to a conclusion. I am questioning thoughts by observing them, a meditation practice; observing the thinking mind and arising thoughts.
The social commentary is an important aspect, there is also plenty of room for interpretation and reflection by the viewer. Because the works are created using an intuitive approach, aspects evolve that might not have been planned.
The material of the work is important to push straight, traditional oil paint on canvas to a new level, one that will resonate with our current cultural events and collective consciousness. The rich tradition of oil painting and its history is a foundation, and by assembling paintings as objects along side of the altered books and collage techniques, a new context and language emerges.
The object-ness of the book is an important symbol, particularly with regard to analog history books in our digital information age. They embody the idea of historical information, once thought to be true and real, now outmoded and obsolete. When the sculpted altered books are used in combination with the collaged imagery, a narrative about the context of information and its meaning is evident. The density of the visual imagery in this work also connotes the effects of media, advertising, and the internet, although in these pieces more unusual combinations are being presented in unique ways.