Statement

Artist Statement

My work is a mirror of my inner experience, while also serving as a reflection of my external experiences. The inner experience is often plagued by mental illness with a tendency for philosophic revelations and a deep connection to mother nature. Mental illness comes in many shapes and forms, sometimes more brutal other times a quiet distant ache. Although I find that words often fail me, hence my desire to create visual artwork, when a piece speaks to me profoundly I soon find myself spewing poetic confessions. Despite all this heavy weight, there lies a garden with a desire to reconnect with our natural roots. The external can be seen quite literally through archived imagery and found objects. I only hope that within my work others may at least begin to look at their own mirrors so that they can hold space for themselves.

Language is often nonsensical and symbols are never truly defined. In my desperate attempt to search for myself I have found that it’s easiest if you just strip yourself bare. Essentially this is what I aim to do through my art practice. Using my knowledge of spiritual practices, collection of journal writing/poetry, and my visual imagery I create work that dances around the fields of realism, symbolism, abstraction, surrealism, and even expressionism. Materially using a variety of different surfaces and mark making tools and techniques to further move my work outside the realm of tradition, while pushing the boundaries of archivability if not crossing them all together.