Simulated Memory

2021-2022

My interest in figurative painting permeates this body of work investigating a veiled universe where figures find themselves in mysterious circumstances. The figures are both present and simultaneously disappearing, merging with their environment and each other while loosely holding their own space and form. Their world is spatial, but described through gestural brushstrokes that don’t reveal specifics. Their universe is shifting and melding, mediated by the presence of a vertically-ruled pattern that distorts spatial and optical perception. When seen together in context, it starts to become clear that these ethereal figures may belong to another realm entirely. They are passing through a threshold, be it emotional, physical, or spiritual, and depict a transition from one phase to the next; the suspended moment held before a kiss, the frozen juncture of a dive, the accrued momentum of leaping over a burning fire.

The imagery and content within the work stems from personal photos, movies, present news, and ancient history. Through the act of painting, I am either actively remembering moments from my life, or temporarily placing myself in another’s dream or circumstance. I envision scenarios that echo my experiences through metaphorical comparison; getting punctured by arrows, singeing my feet in flame, eternally running, or cutting my hair. In doing so, it feels as if I am creating simulated memories, drawing to question the distinction between fact and fiction, filling in gaps in my experience, or imagining alternative endings.

The process of creating a detailed underpainting, covering it with an opaque layer of oil paint, and scraping through to reveal the primary layer creates an element of unpredictability that I respond to by then working back into the wet surface of the painting. Defined brushstrokes, textures, and scraped or masked areas create spatial relationships within an otherwise unified atmosphere. This process mirrors the degradation of memory over time; once vivid, then either incomplete, reconstructed, or potentially forgotten. In order to make specific and consistent markings within the paintings, I developed and 3D-printed custom tools to manipulate the oil paint to produce uniform patterns that could be superimposed onto my paintings. The vertically-ruled pattern that is ubiquitous throughout the work is inspired by the Moiré Effect, an interference pattern that creates unique optical phenomena under specific conditions.