Artist Statement

A supraliminal  and disquieting feeling arises when one considers the act of consciously inhabiting a body. Utilizing grisly depictions of creatures without skin, my paintings ponder the flesh we inhabit and the kinship humans have with fellow beasts of the flesh. 

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The vivid blush and crimson I use to paint the isolated dangling carcasses are not dissimilar from the inner workings of our own bodies.  

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My work invokes conflicting feelings of fellowship with other creatures, the beauty in our grotesque anatomy, and the metaphysical horror of existing in a body. Viewers may walk away with a deep philosophical unease, and nagging thoughts of how little really separates the body of man from the body of beast. 

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My painted works are a combination of the technical application of glossy viscous oil paint in sickly sanguine reds, and a surreally liminal context that isolates and confronts. This work is an expression of my deeply held belief that the life of all creatures have value, and people of all identities are worthy of love and respect. My connection and empathy toward this school of thought is undoubtedly connected to my identity as a person of multiple marginalized groups. The illogical human inclination to divide and ostracize based on gender, sexuality, race, language, and religion, is a spiteful microcosm that highlights that which divides, and ignores that which unites—life and flesh. My audience will see the anatomical similarity of all creatures, and logically confront the systemically instilled sense of division and superiority that inhibits greater empathy; both toward fellow man and toward  fellow creature. I aim for the audience of my work to walk away contemplative and skeptical of the life, systems, and ideologies of the world around them.