My cut-paper paintings are both subtle
inquiries into the nature of scientific visual language, and quirky, funny
diagrams, imbued with the deceptive promise of imparting factual information.
The pared-down imagery evokes the objective authority of scientific illustration.
Yet each painting delivers only enough information to vaguely illustrate concepts
of instinct, unseen mental and emotional processes, and overt and veiled communication
between people. The imagery negotiates a space between the rational and irrational,
between the humorous and the serious, and between science and emotion. The
surfaces themselves suggest the perfection of a printed diagram but slowly
reveal the imperfections of their hand-cut and hand-painted construction.
The unusual antiseptic color, unclear interaction between figures, lines,
arrows, and planes, and the lack of a key or labels all confuse any possibility
of conclusive narrative. These elements situate the work in the realm of scientific
visual display while their inconsistencies leave the work open to varied interpretation.