My most current projects deal with the idea of memory, both individual and communal, and myths, those newly created and inherited.
One theme that I explore to investigate these ideas is that of death and its’ ceremonies. I am interested in the juxtaposition of the private and ritualistic aspects of funerals and their simultaneously public and performative elements. I am fascinated by the notion of communal grief, whether it is among an extended family, village or nation. How do the sacred ceremonies around death conflict with our everyday conscious and the instinctual denial of death that happens in our subconscious? My aim is to make the viewer aware of their position as both a voyeur and participant.
Sacred spaces, in my work, can be both physical and mental, real and imagined. Memory, the vehicle through which we combat death, plays a key role in the way my artistic narratives unfold. Whether it be through the fading edges of a charcoal drawing, or the collage of culture specific imagery on a time traveling car, my work attempts to take the viewer backwards and forwards through the timeline of memory, both remembered and invented.
I investigate these themes using oil painting, video animation, photography, site-specific installations, collage, sculpture and drawings.
