Precipice
2019-2020
Through figurative painting I attempt to represent moments of humility and surrender, addressing questions I have surrounding vulnerability, intimacy, and violence. The viewer becomes witness to figures on the precipice of something— they are coming up against challenges, grappling with fear, shame, and desire, or being engulfed by overwhelming emotions. They are on the edge of the realizations that will provide comfort and serenity, but have not fully arrived yet. The paintings offer an examination into the myriad of ways violence is perceived and misperceived. The work integrates symbols from mythology, art history, religious texts, and dreams, reframing archetypes as metaphors to explore personal narratives. My interests at the intersection of Buddhism, Cognitive neuroscience, and Neuroplasticity offer insights into the mental processes explored within the paintings. Notions of Embodied cognition and the Extended Mind Theory are explored in order to create paintings that serve to function as extensions of the mind itself. This includes the processes of mediation, subterfuge, and concealing that occur in my own mind, which are then translated as physical actions through paint. The figures depicted are often confrontational in their actions or subject-matter, and are sometimes partially obscured in order to have their intentions remain enigmatic. The color palettes are pastel and dream-like, yet the subject matter is disconcerting, giving the sense that something is looming overhead. The paintings are dedicated to exploring the emotional capacity of color relationships and expressive mark-making in service to these ideas.
