Artist's Statement
Abstraction is central to my work. If you look deep enough- to where scientific understanding ends- everything is abstract. Microphotography is often beautiful, but it was not made to be art. Those images are functional, they depict- to the best of their ability- an object, but inevitably fail. Microscopic lenses, stains, x-rays, all tools we can use to look at objects that exist on scales we could never see with the naked eye. This leaves room for abstraction. As technology advances, and the limitations of these processes are pushed further, I like to add the distortions back in to the images. I find it humorous to remove their purpose, scientific images are made to clarify and provide information that is as objective as possible. Abstraction is a tool I use to deny that function- I can obscure details, twist forms, relinquish control, and make a subjective interpretation of what should have been as factual and controlled as possible.
I am hoping to work with source material more directly and use not just the nominally aesthetic microscopy imagery, but also boring data sheets and old textbooks, the various detritus of academia and see if I can bring them into my colourful unreality as well.