Artist's Statement

Artist's Statement

When Charles Darwin published Origin of Species in 1859, he proposed to the world the mechanical nature of life. He put forth the theory that all living things are continually imprinted on by their surroundings. Those with traits suitable for their environment survive and reproduce while those lacking die. In this way species evolve (over a long period of time) and grow to fit into a certain niche, which has been laid out by external circumstances, not by internal conscious decision.

Applying this view of the natural world to human society brings forth questions of predestination and freewill. Which has more pull? Are our decisions really our own or just the output of a million different seemingly unrelated circumstances? What are the parameters of freewill and in how much are we shaped by our environment?

I find these questions unnerving. Upon realization that “survival of the fittest” applies even to human beings and remains an active and humbling force, I’ve felt wedged between the idea that I have no control over my own fate and the hope that, through manipulation of environment, one can maintain some control over his or her life. This state of uneasiness fuels my work.

Through figurative paintings this topic is addressed with either an anxious or optimistic sensibility; futures are decreed by tyrants or suggested by chosen sources. Oil paints are used to lend dimension, made possible through the layering of thick and thin sheets of color, and the dense weight that comes from the history of oil painting as a medium. Taking advantage of these assets, I consider and depict, metaphorically or literally, the external forces that exercise themselves upon the malleability of a specific person. In the end the image becomes a complex and complete portrait, displaying a current, yet ever-changing figure and his modifiers.