Works in progress...
Privy Beyond the Door
In large people have two selves. The person they are outwardly, and who they are inwardly. This outward and inward self can be a literal or figurative manifestation, and those who are privy to the inward self is often limited. This series examines the personal, private, and vulnerable moments that many go through yet often keep inward and secret. The viewer is forced to play voyeur and acknowledge these common moments.
Each piece or sub-series is a moment that many face. The moments are anywhere from lighthearted to serious . The viewer becomes privy to these things and is a part of it whether they are meant to be privy to it. I creates a tension akin to walking in on a disagreement when you were never meant to be there.
Yet, simultaneously we can acknowledge that most can all relate in one way or another. Either the viewer has been there, or know someones who has.
In creating each work I started with photographing myself acting out various situations, then through a projection process I rendered a drawing of the image on a custom-crafted panel. The drawing is fixed and a wash of Prussian Blue is added. From there thin layers of Lead White are added to lay in highlights. I use a traditional technique of glazing colors to create focal points to emphasize the intimacy of the work, then increasingly paint in thicker, more immediate layers of expressive brushstrokes. This style is evocative of film's shallow depth of field, further insinuating the voyeuristic nature, as is the ratios the paintings are done in all of which are common film dimensions.
We all have vulnerable moments that we deny for a myriad of reasons, and we keep this to our inward selves, this series brings the view beyond the closed doors and lets people see these private moments.
