Artist Statement

The central themes I explore in my creative process and work are the ideas of control, chance, and failure: both in the physical world around us and within our own consciousness. I am fascinated by the physical means of control we encounter and the overt and covert influence of the unseen structures and systems of everyday existence that modify our experiential reality. My work is also inspired by the textures and forms of the natural world and the geological structures and surfaces that occur. I am drawn to the subtleties found in such hard and unforgiving materials and landscapes, as well as humanity’s impacts and efforts to control and extract precious and desirable materials. I draw inspiration from the historical techniques of excavation, rock blasting, tunneling, and industry, and from this I strive to find the beauty and elegance in often overlooked remnant structures and surfaces.
Through the creation of my sculptural forms and objects, I seek to explore the nature of the unconscious mind, and create physical representations and reinterpretations of the structures of my internal mental landscape that represent a re-constructed reality. The internal struggle and battle for control, understanding, and manipulation of our perceived sense of identity can be seen as a form of internal warfare, set against the backdrop of the volatile world and political climate we all must navigate in modern society. By taking ones innermost fears and insecurities and creating physical representations that can be worn and displayed, one is able to identify and control the subconscious forces at play within ones mental landscape.
My intent is to create juxtapositions and states of conflict and interplay between disparate elements such as order and chaos, the industrial versus organic, and the talisman and the relic. I push materials and processes to their breaking point, and then use the resulting textures and structures as the starting points and components for new pieces. This chaotic and intense process of alchemy and creation gives birth to new forms and ways of thinking about beauty and adornment, sustainability, the reuse of objects and materials, and my own creative studio process. The result is finished works that speak to my visual and conceptional framework of control, hidden systems and structures, manipulation, and transformation.