VVAVES

Artist Statement

The disparate concepts of Pop Art, abstract painting and collage heavily influence the scope of my work. Finding a link between these genres has been a focal point in my studio practices. The merging of ideas and concepts to present works that either tell a visual story or allude to an idea presents a complex composition of imagery and information. With a background in design, my work is an expressive interplay of many diverse words, images, logos and color. The multi-layered work illustrates a merge of ideas and symbolism that has become the crux of my work.
For this show, I wanted to make works that not only form a visual collision of imagery, but also within each piece tell a different story that has many signifiers and allusions. There are many references to mainstream pop culture that has influenced me throughout my entire life. Through commercial imagery, music, film and comic books my inspiration has come from a varied sources. There are particular references to one of my favorite recording artist Jay-Z. His complex wordplay and personal experiences told through metaphors and allusion has always been an inspiration for my works. Another important influence for me has been filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. His symbolism and hidden reference in movies like “The Shining” has always served as a visual stimulation for me. Finding hidden meaning in banal imagery motivates me to investigate the importance of symbolism in commercial imagery. Jay-Z makes many references to Stanley Kubrick in his music, so it would be fitting to include some of those similarities within my work.
VVAVES is a show about how symbolism plays a very important role in everyday imagery. Images can take on different meaning based on how they are merged with other images and what ideas can form as a result. Images are repeated in different works as the symbolism is carried over or re-interpreted as a result of the placement. The figures are mainly allegorical references that represent larger ideas. Though the main focal points are comic book figures, they represent different stories and emotions that serve as the context for the different works. Color and form push the information around until the dialogue starts to come through. In this, the subject matter is mainly a symbol of the expressive context that has become the focal point for my artwork.