Fires and Collages

Artist’s Statement

I am interested in how our unconscious manifests in waking life. I am currently developing a body of work that explores the figures and places encountered in my dreams, to give them a visual presence. I work from observation, often recreating elements of my dreams through set building in my studio.

I also construct images from fragments of cast-offs—magazines, old books, paper bags, and bits and pieces found on the street. The material itself is important to the imagery. I use it to signify the fragmentary nature of dreams, which define our underlying feel of the world. My goal, as I piece together the tiny scraps of paper, is to create a sense of momentary coalescence before the image unravels and disappears.

An abstract element representing feeling also enters my paintings and collages. Typically, this element occurs through the influx of paper fragments and large globs of paint-laden brushwork. The fire, light, and explosions in my work are present to alchemize the depicted narrative by creating a new atmosphere—buildings transformed can become light and airy, or they can become dust and ash. My current challenge in paint and collage is integrating these two coexisting forces in an image.

Read more from Issue 21.2.