Portfolio: Emergent
The figures in this work were unexpected.
I was experimenting with new materials hoping they would provide a pathway toward new forms of imagery. As part of the process I held onto symmetry, a compositional construct I have used in my work for many years. Symmetry mirrors the human body and is the structure of countless other living organisms. In a wider sense it is associated with beauty, balance and intangible qualities such as equity and fairness.
In making this work I gave an unusual degree of agency to my materials. I tried to respond to the cues offered by them. Each piece developed as a partnership. I transformed symmetrical images of dead grass and other debris to create new shapes. I used a decolorant within the contours of these shapes.
The images that evolved felt primal, as if they were creatures that originated with the start of life on earth or were still alive in ocean depths. I like to think of them as reflections of ourselves, reminding us of where we are from and who we still are.
Click on any of the thumbnails to scroll through the full images.
