STATEMENT

 I feel we all have to play the role of a forensic pathologist at times, to pick apart the death and decay to see what went wrong and maybe gain some closure. While weeding through the raw and the grotesque, there are some beautiful discoveries to be made. These cathartic motions embody my art. They are the very process and driving force.  I love the curiosity at the inception of making and the unchartered destinations it takes before a work’s birth. This investigative work is paired with my fascination for the human body, such a resilient yet transient life source. My work displays this with its tactile nature and heavy application of material. 

 I like the idea as artist playing forensic pathologist picking apart the decay of the studio or previous work to find a clue for the next body, or taking on the role of a surgeon to reconstruct and build a solution. This is how I fell into my imagery, the start of each painting. It’s like getting a cut as a kid; the usual blank stare and mesmerizing sight when the skin opens, a quick assessment, then a traumatic response, yet playing with the cut later, picking the scab. It’s all about the allure within the unsightly, the scab that’s picked off and examined. Held up to the light making a beautiful crimson-stained glass window of blood. 

 In the end the body is ultimately form and meat, much like the structure and treatment of my installations. The thought of not knowing or having control is what I seek and overcome within my work. The movement of pushing and pulling at the same time, the idea of limbo or the feeling of pressure is what I want to evoke. It’s like dipping into cool murky water or sex with a stranger, the pleasure and fear at once. The emotions laying somewhere between disgust and allure, grotesque and beautiful, pain with pleasure, hair on candy.