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About My Work
Squares
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Square shapes are all around us. Like building blocks of life. I like to play around with the duality of the square. Symbolically, it can represent equality, balance, and a strong foundation. These are very important values in life that almost anyone can get behind. But looking around us we can see squares representing something else. Restrictions.
They can be seen in day-to-day life covered with barbs or bright yellow colors. Appearing like menacing limitations. They embody the spirit of authority, rules, and social guidelines on how to live your life.
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In many of my pieces the squares are not flawless. They’re distorted, faded, or covered up. It’s always felt like a good metaphor for life. You want your sturdy, well balanced life, but a lot of times, it just doesn’t work like that. Life get’s messy or skewed. Sometimes things are just not going to be easy or perfect, but it doesn’t mean you should abandon those values. You should try to hang on to them even when things are just slightly off, and your “square” isn’t perfect. Stay solid and strong through adversity as this shape is one that’s hard to completely break.
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Viewing the square in its inverse has meaning as well. Representing squares in this manner symbolizes anti-conformity, breaking down barriers or not abiding to the rules you don’t agree with. Even perfect squares have certain colors seep out behind the lines bleeding into other areas. A kind of defiance to being told how to live your life.
The duality of the square is something I struggle with in life. I don’t want to feel restricted in my decision making and I also want that balance. That strong framework for a happy fulfilling life. It’s hard to block out the commercialism that tells us “You need the new thing” or the certain people that conform to materialistic lifestyles. Those factors can make you feel like you’re making wrong choices or aren’t living your best life. It creates a “grass is greener” scenario. But having a solid foundation in who are you are and what’s important to you is the true reality. None of it really matters. Being happy and content is the only thing that truly matters.
Text
Text is heavily used and scattered throughout many of my pieces. Often, obscured, or randomized letters can be seen floating around the compositions. This element, matched with a few others, represents fading memories of the past. They act as a physical representation of conversations with an old friend or family member. Maybe even someone who isn’t in your life anymore. You can remember the person speaking about something they loved, but not verbatim. You can remember a repeated joke someone would say but you can’t remember the sound of their voice. You can remember someone using colloquialisms often but not any specifically or maybe you just remember the sound of someone’s laugh.
The words and sounds feel just barely out of reach in your mind. They’re distorted or jumbled and become almost frustrating as it simultaneously invokes other sense memories. They have a slight taste of nostalgia, yet these things start to fade or become increasingly harder to remember as time passes.
Even if you can’t remember them perfectly, these things have stayed with you. They’re a part of you. It makes you realizes the things that have stayed with you, with a hundred percent clarity, are truly special moments and words that have helped shape your character. Try and hold on to these for as long as possible even as they get muddled by time. These memories feed your soul.
The Look of Destruction and Grunge
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A lot of my process involves adding and removing. An almost constant battle of editing textures, colors, and shapes. For every action there’s a reaction. There could be an explosion of paint and energy in one area only then to be followed up with a more controlled precise movement to cover it up. This can sometimes make the piece look destroyed or distressed. This intentional choice helps convey raw power and emotion while also showing control and restraint. This also demonstrates intention and an emphasis on composition and design. It also ties into other themes of my work such memento mori and passage of time.
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Destruction or decay can often make someone pensive. Like a ghost, something that existed there is now gone. But there’s also the silver lining of new beginnings. When something has been destroyed, it can often highlight transition. It’s a reminder that nothing is permanent and that things often change over time. Objects, buildings, people. Nothing last forever, and this in turn makes nothing finite. A very freeing thought. While destruction can be a sad thing to see, rebirth and reinvention are often seen in its wake. Hope and gratitude usually follow soon after.