Fragments, Remnants, and Remains

This ongoing body of work explores my experience as prescribed by the inescapable influence of the media, advertising, and entertainment industries and our rapid assimilation of technology. Through the lens of abstraction and a comic book vocabulary, these ideas are developed in a variety of media and formats.  

From my perspective, the media’s economic, political, and cultural influence cannot be understated, while technology continues to expand this influence and availability to a worldwide audience. I feel the advertising and entertainment industries drive us towards their concepts of value, beauty, relevance, and wholeness. Through misdirection and exaggeration, these institutions push their agendas, distracting us from bigger concerns, while leaving us dividing as a community. 

Whether people are opposed to technology, or merging with it, I believe our cultural and physical evolution is being defined by the multiplication and development of our digital and mechanical advancement. This steady progression towards a digital evolution promises greater access to information and advanced abilities, but are we becoming better for it or losing ourselves to it? 

My studio practice begins with small collages that form the basis for drawings, paintings, and sculpture. The collage imagery is grounded in a childhood love of comic books and animation, which helped me understand and define my world. By editing this material into layered fragments of information, I can explore multiple ideas and images simultaneously. Defying the traditional “window” format of painting, the shaped profiles of my compositions emphasize the physical aspects of my work and the dynamic character of comics. 

My abstractions recreate moments, memories, and feelings that reflect my experiences with the various forms of media influence and our assimilation with technology. It is a pursuit and practice to better understand the urban and virtual landscapes I inhabit, and a means to process these experiences.