echoes from home: artist statement
I am interested in memories – Single, specific instances frozen in time. Echoes from home is a body of work that explores themes of nostalgia and personal history through an intricate series of paintings and drawings. Some of the imagery found within these pieces relates to real, concrete people, places and things - The tiny white house where I use to live, my old yellow sweater and the white and blue quilt that draped the sides of my living room couch as a kid. I am drawn to old family photo albums and the documentation of lives through the lenses of cheap automatic cameras.
I want my paintings to be stripped of physicality, to become ghost-like: Floating, suspended, transparent entities- Hovering somewhere between the fanciful realm of our imaginations and the firm grip of reality. I am constantly seeking to push the boundaries between objective documentation and romanticized truth.
I paint frequently on frosted Mylar. The transparency yields to the elusive quality of time. I paint also on old maps, sewing patterns and stained wood. These supports have character, feeling, and history. I paint in thin, washy layers, building up an image the way that time builds up our affections for the past.
