Artist Statement
I am deeply engaged with the nature around us and within us, as well as the history we create and have created—a history defined not by time, but by energy. I examine modern events and tragedies, both ecological and social, and their manifestations in contemporary life, in addition to themes of displacement, hierarchical social structures, and systems.
The process of solving challenges often becomes more engaging than the solutions themselves. My process involves exploring phenomena, whether occurring in the world, in my dreams, in my thoughts, or as tangible as rocks on the ground.
In my creative process, I lean towards subconscious associations, where perceptually recognizable and unrecognizable images coexist in surreal spaces. These visual poems intermingle opposites—order and chaos, reality, and fantasy—struggling for parity and debating their interchangeability. Materials are utilized playfully and symbolically, constructed in layers to cover, and deconstructed to uncover, expose, synthesize, and transform. The outcome compositions are bonded, regardless of their various stylistic categorizations.
My painting and photographic series often mirror each other in their complexity and approach to layering. In photography, I have moved away from my traditional darkroom training, adopting several in-camera and digital techniques, including multiple exposure, scanning, digital editing, and light manipulation. I find and fabricate subject matters by setting up elaborate installations or building layers through multiple techniques. In both painting and photography, I use grids to place individual pieces as part of a larger conceptual whole.
