The fabric of the universe is just that—fabric. We stitch together our boundaries, when, in reality, the universe is limitless. We erect walls around ourselves both metaphorically and literally in order to create a sense of security. These walls deter our species from the only true necessity—survival. These walls are masks. We all employ defense mechanisms to guard what resides in the depths of us.
The manner in which the figure is painted combines the deconstruction of shape, color, light, and shadow, with something that references both realism and abstraction. Fragments of the figures maintain defined characteristics where other areas are rendered flat and trail off. The final shattered image is a metaphor for the way in which we – like chameleons- obscure our identities.
The shattered wood slats reference the ocean of orchestrated social construct. They represent something we are familiar with and comfortable with, the building materials used for constructing shelter. Here they are so out of place they mimic the aftermath of a disaster. It is rather humorous that one of the only reasons we fear natural disasters is because we are surrounded by man-made shelter; skyscrapers, freeways, bridges, etc. Is it not ironic that the largest threat in a most potential catastrophe is the threat of our walls falling, of our constructs, crumbling?
In my work, the pretty painted wood slats attempt to divide up the unadulterated nature (if that even exists), our interpretation of their presence in these spaces questions their place and order in a world of natural chaos. Moments of my paintings open up into something vastly unknown yet extensively more real, more constant. What is more real than the stars in our sky? They will be here longer than we will. This not only reminds us that there is something far greater than the walls around us, or the fabric on our chests, it reminds us that they are just painted on the substrate, again, a flat construct that alludes to something deeper and farther away. The natural wood of the panel or the implication of nature penetrates the brush strokes, interrupting the pieces with the natural beauty of something beyond our creation.