Statement

The basis of my work is an ongoing interest in examining the creative possibilities of combining word and image to explore language, emotions and the dynamics of relationships. According to the writer Octavio Paz, the creative faculty of ‘putting contrary or dissimilar realities in an analogical relation’ is a reconciling force that uses interaction to build intimacy and understanding. Fragments placed in juxtaposition variously reflect and provoke each other to reveal concealed meaning. By comparing the strange with the familiar, a bridge of meaning between the known and unknown is created. In my opinion, the exploration of images that provide metaphoric or symbolic bonds can temporarily quell the anxiety of fragmentation. By identifying and exploring underlying associations between words and images, I work to create visual and thematic harmonies, as well as paradox and plurality.

My research methodologies include the use of photo-mechanical and digital print media. I work with these tools, creating shifting dimensions of words and images, to create hybrid forms. As a result, my prints and works on paper establish unexpected relationships between the text and the images / spaces in which the text is located. These relationships are often enigmatic and result in unusual poetic associations, as well as to a questioning of the ways in which words and images can function.


Octavio Paz, The Double Flame: Essays on Love and Eroticism. London: Haverill 1996