Synthesis
ˈsɪnθɪsɪs/
Noun
– the combination of components or elements to form a connected whole.
I am highly influenced by urban surroundings and backdrops with tattered billboards, posters, found mark-making while also showing a love for academia, pastoral and genre painting. This body of work is mixed media, décollage and is part of my longstanding study relating to the visual synthesis between contemporary and art historical imagery, which is often associated with artistic pluralism.
From the use of found materials, first hand photography, expressionistic and abstract brushwork – while also including highly naturalistic, drawn and painted scenes – I want to question the status of contemporary and historical art in and outside of the gallery space. The work itself is also a response to my own personal pursuit of psycho-geographically representing every-day life that I hope the viewer could relate to in whichever way they choose. This could mean the synesthesia qualities of walking through a barren grey carpark or how spectrum of lights in a club flash across figures in motion as they dance; overall all these experiences are an intrinsic part of my interpretation of artistic synthesis.
By combining and remixing seemingly opposing visual themes, even relating modern day elements to archival imagery of the Baroque and notions of the sublime – I aspire to affirm a universal love for the visual and visceral all the time and always. What has been created is open to interpretation to the viewer, even if it’s just on an aesthetically pleasing level – overall this is an archive of experience and a love for what I see and feel.
