Symbolic figuration and gestural abstraction

My work portrays people's internal process working through crises. Symbolic figuration and gestural abstraction create a space between memory and intention. Surreal shifting planes of past, present, future, subconscious, conscious, to socially conscious are juxtaposed into the same frame. These are layered with paradoxes like sounds that cannot be heard (audiographs of extinct birdsongs) and waning hope of fallen paper cranes. Mantras of familial bias echo, lacing through historic knowledge.

This overload of perspectives condensed into one view is meant to match the deluge of competing truths we are met with daily, woven with our nurtured biases. We mentally slide between planes of existence to find our driving force out of the whirlpool.

Paintings shift attention vertically from the perception of one's past, to their current situation, to their hopes for the future. Nostalgic ideas submerged in their subconscious are shown underwater at the bottom of the painting. Bits of tangled memories bubble up to the surface to their awareness, as talismans to guide them.

Loosely rendered mangrove trees mimic neural fibers leading to the upper section that is less defined, more surreal since it is the future realm not yet realized, full of the joy we are searching for. A barrier line is often evident. As that breaks down inspiration and light rays shine through.

Some submerged sections are separated by mangrove roots before those symbols weave into the upper scene, the way fabric salvage ends preview the threads making up the yardage. Past symbols fade from view once the subject's concerns subside. 

Fluid paint washes support the energy of these thoughts and reactions in flux. Calmer areas within the composition show a moment of clarity when inspiration is captured. Occasional paint drips and thick brush strokes remind the viewer of the artist's hand starting the conversation, inviting them to reflect on their own submerged tools and talismans.