Artist Statement

          I mean to not only represent a subject, but also to present it. I am influenced by paintings that show the perception of the artists, who look closely to depict the world as they see. By utilizing various forms of “lenses” through the use of photography and the way the eye perceives what is real, my work acts as a reflection of reality. I lay paintings of photographs on various surfaces, making the images seem more tangible, as if they could slip off the surface. By using both real and painted surfaces and images, the viewer is challenged to understand what is real and what is paint, reflecting on our contemporary struggle with understanding the separation between the authentic and the virtual, or simulation of reality. The use of the frame is important in my work, which is in context to the historical idea of paintings as a window to view a new or different reality. The frame and painting together form an object, rather than an image, a more personal gesture. The painting of the photographs, the “image” part of the work aims to be mysterious and foreign to the viewer. I often use photographs of my father taken overseas in the Middle East, photos taken by a soldier in a foreign land under extreme conditions. The “bad” photography mimics the situation, the inability to take “good” photographs because of a fleeting moment in time as well as space. A blur represents this, as well as the inability to fully understand the situation in full focus. Past the window is a vast unexplored world, indifferent and incomprehensible. The photographs are an attempt to reach into picture, to understand it. However, it is only comprehensible to those who are a part of it, who directly experience it. The “tower” is an important symbol, referencing the tower of Babylon, an impossible and fruitless task.