Artist Statement
Beautiful and strange our existence in this world, our need to feel some sense of understanding of ourselves is important, but is it beyond our reach? Sometimes it feels hard to accept or understand who we really are. What we hold in our minds, as an identity could be miles from reality. Bruce Nauman once said.
" My work comes out of being frustrated about the human condition. And about how people refuse to understand other people" (Nauman, 2002)
If Nauman is right and people refuse to understand others, then it must be for a good reason. That reason could be that we just don’t understand ourselves, or we cant or won’t except who or what we really are in this world.
Could it be then that we have created an inner construct or understanding of the world that is in conflict with our outer reality? If this is the case it could be said that we have little or no idea of who or what we really are to this world. This inner construct could be close to our external reality and could share many similarities to what we find in the world around us or it could be miles from it, sharing very little if anything with it. If either is true then there must be a place were the inner meets outer, a landscape of convergence. As an artist I find this place intriguing.
"Passing across boarders or the ends of man I come or surrender to the animal, to the animal in itself, to the animal in me and the animal at unease with itself." (Derrida, 2008,p3)
My work for some time now has explored this idea and this notion of place. I have found myself producing artworks within varying mediums that suggest its existence. Within this body of work I have begun to see the suggestion of some form of conflict, a conflict between my inner and outer realities. As I have explored further I have been left with questions. I have found myself asking, can I play the theme of this landscape of convergence and the conflict played out there? Can I capture its mood with colour, shape or texture? Can I poetically suggest its narrative? I wonder sometimes perhaps my aim is not to find firm answers after all, but perhaps for me it is enough to bring to life some form of representation of these invisible places.
"There are some tormented by the constant anxiety of presenting a more authentic image of themselves, in closer conformity with their inner reality. There are others who make a great effort and would like to be taken at their face value, but their face value does not represent what they really are. Hypocrites?...Not altogether." (Gide, 1967)