Portraits from the Series Titled "Monsters" (2013-2014)
This exhibition was on display at the Laughing Buddha in Sudbury, Ontario under the auspices of the Art Gallery of Sudbury from March 16 - June 15 2014.
"A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession." Albert Camus
Art reveals and expresses the inner world through the mind's eye: realities beyond those perceived by the physical senses of taste, smell, sound, vision and touch. By combining colour, texture, and meaning, another voice begins to speak, one with which our subconscious resonates. Inspiration comes from the curl of smoke coming from a chimney at daybreak, the flashing look in an eye, the sultry curve of a lip, the vibrant colour of a leaf against a rough rock, by a warm wind on a cool day, by a melancholy song. All these things come together in my art, spoken in the colour and texture of paint, translating the language of emotion into a visual display.
I love the look and feel of acrylic paint. It is the essence of modern life, plastic and vibrant and chemical, thick with potential. With acrylic paint, there is a potential for layering and mixing and smoothing, with the burst of chaotic ridges and rush of movement that helps to represent the turmoil of the inner world. Whether on board or canvas, paint reveals ideas that help us process our outer reality.
We have multiple layers, faces that we present publicly, socially, different faces for each group of friends, acquaintances and strangers. My art is an expression of the layers revealed, of the monsters that lie within us, myself and the people I connect with in my life. Under the surface lie the sharks of the deep, the creatures of darkness that dwell deep down but still belong to us. In this series I seek to bring that darkness to light, to reveal in a new way the subterranean mind, to revel in new understanding by exposing the beauty and emotion behind the doors of the mind.
This series represents the creatures within us all. Look within and seek out your own personal monsters. Whether you tame them or feed them is up to you.
