Visions, Dreams, and Memories

In this body of work, I use my visions, dreams and memories as an uncensored source of information, and as a vital link to the integrity of the unconscious mind. The very nature of the unconscious mind as a vessel for that which the conscious mind suppresses suggests the frequently dark nature of secrets held there. Believing in the universality of human experience and the human condition, I strive to convey a moment of fear, of need, of vulnerability, of dark recognition...a moment of truth that transcends the personal and acknowledges the depth of human experience at both a conscious and unconscious level.

The working process for these drawings is significant, reflecting my efforts to shed light on what is concealed or veiled in the unconscious. These drawings begin with a prepared surface of dissolved graphite over gesso that is nearly black - a dark, rich, silvery gray surface that reveals form only through its own demise. The graphite is eroded away, creating various degrees of illumination and defining form that is reluctant to be defined. The subversion of traditional additive drawing techniques further emphasizes the emotionally dark nature of the subject matter. While the physical form is beautiful and mysterious in its structure and the play of light against shadow, there is the unseen lurking beneath the surface, a suggestion of profound shame or malevolence, of psychic and emotional disease. Tension lies in the conflict between the aesthetic beauty of the drawn form and the implied corruption of the spirit.