Encoding in Abstraction
In my current practice, I create paintings that are both physically and conceptually a construction of their environment. I glue layers of fabric from my old clothing onto a surface and then cover what I have made with papier-mâché, acrylic, and stones. This bakes in the hot sun and I repeat the process multiple times. In the works, I reference my life by incorporating forms inspired by real life observation, desires, longing for home, and wonder for the environment. I cite artists Amy Sillman and Katherine Bradford, who are known to employ successive layers of acrylic, as major inspirations to actively remix, warp, and edit the surface of my paintings. Throughout all the works in this series, contrasts in materiality, such as papier-mâché coming up against a sea of stone granules, and portions of the paintings that highlight the obvious use of acrylic paint, areas of flat color, or human intervention like scratching, make it apparent to the viewer that they are looking at paintings and drawings.
Finally; Why encode? I believe the encoded product of my works can offer space for dialogue and imagination. I am exploring questions of identity and encryption; whether this identity can be taken off, like used clothing, or whether it is attached to one’s being by using the binding power of acrylic paint.
