Rationale

Nature is often considered separate from humanity — something to be conquered, utilized, contained, exploited, and often, in the way. My work expresses the tension between human will and the will (nature) of nature, and the paradox that we are also nature.

My current work shifts between representation and abstraction. A natural, readymade oak panel provides the surface, a starting point. The images are perceived as logs, trees, figures, abstracted wood shapes, or even perfectly machined wooden beams. I'm interested in the most basic definition of abstraction here, which means to take from or reduce.

The underlying wood grain distorts the viewer's understanding of what is being depicted. Where representational art typically relies on copying nature, as in conventional landscape painting, my paintings use real wood and paint to create another version of landscape — manipulated nature. Baudrillard's concept of the hyperreal, where the real and the artificial merge, results in a situation where a model — such as a work of art — can create a reality without a direct reference point. I combine the real and the manufactured to sustain viewer interest; the viewer is perplexed by this duality.