Artist Statement
The fluidity and mutability of form in my sculptures emerges from a simultaneously intuitive and analytical response to my experiences. The works are influenced by thoughts and senses about language, the body, gender and sexuality that occasionally evoke formal typologies, and sometimes a typography, distilling my own personal experience. These figurations have been paired down and blurred, so that you only get the essence of a body part. It borders the line between objective and subjective abstractions. The intention behind the work is to create a conversation with the spectator; these bodily forms are veiled in a character of language. They connect the viewer to a story of a personal narrative, and simultaneously evoke familiarity and foreignness. The sculptures can either be referencing a letter; a distorted word or a distorted body.
In some instances, grouped sculptural forms, viewed from certain angles, or read sequentially according to tethers or coded attributes that link them together, spell objectifying or derogatory terms, in an effort to start a conversation. The viewer is meant not be a passive spectator, as they are forced to connect the letters like a puzzle. Some of the stories that are being told reference my life experiences as gay male, and/or other members of the LGBTQ community. These experiences with others has led me to be called multiple names, that reference a young gay male in a gay culture such as being called a twink to a trick. These words have affected me one way or another; these works reference my past, present and inevitable future encounters. These confrontations have affected me in how I view myself and the world around me, playing a direct role in my identity formation.
In a sense the work I make is cathartic and pushes me to challenge the status quo. The narrative is so initially subtle that when the viewer understands the word or other reference, I hope it makes them think about their own experiences and to think about how it affects them and others. Each experience with the work could be different, with different connections depending on what the angle the viewer sees the sculptures from. This concept is very exciting to me and I feel it has a lot of potential to create dialogue to challenge perceptions of a word or lifestyle. With the use of bright popping colors adds another layer of meaning, I use them in a sense to mask the seriousness of the work, to distort perceptions and in a sense, shock the viewer; In that something so beautiful spells something obscene.
Coded materials such as jockstraps, leather, feathers, latex, and metal wires are incorporated into the work because they are sexualized and fetishized within our culture and they function to either soften or harden the aspect of the sculpture. This work is meant to question norms and expectations male sexuality and what are the “masculine” aspects to the work. Each piece is participating in the masquerade of the everyday, getting dressed up to complete a role that we each play in society. It particularly speaks of being outside the heteronormative, and telling stories of diversity and the complexities of life.