Transparent Background

This exhibition is comprised of both older works and new pieces, and curated by myself to suit the theme of a liminal space that exists just surrounding a digital image file or a portable network graphic (PNG). In this space the viewer is invited into the intimate location of my artistic practice; my small bedroom in the single unit apartment I share with my cat. After just a few months of settling into the space I joined 6 minutes past 9 and took my first look at New Art City. Right away I was struck by the seemingly infinite space, I was overwhelmed. Soon though, I noticed a sadness in the empty space that felt so human. I felt melancholic like walking around outside so late at night that it felt as though the entire neighborhood was asleep around me. I thought of how I feel about the outside of my apartment, or my room, or any room I’ve ever lived in. When I get into a rhythm creatively it’s most often in the night. The infinity of the dark space surrounding me in my little box (room) provided a sense of belonging based on a vague fear of the dark expanse that lay just beyond my window or past my door. I feel a tension as if the space is closing in around me to hold me snugly through my practice. This is how I want you to feel arriving in my exhibition space.
In the night, I draw cartoons inspired by my community of friends; living our lives, dancing happy, being scared, feeling confused and ashamed. I find it so endearing to be a person and to be among people, as I’m sure many can relate, and when inevitably confronted with the pains of humanity my illustrations try to offer comfort with a playful nudge towards irony with grotesque, warped, and pained expressions on otherwise humorous caricatures. My concept for this exhibition is a narrowed look at the tension created by a vacuum of space surrounding a subject. Transparent Background invites viewers to appreciate the night sky, space, or everything beyond them as if it were akin to the expanse of a hard drive. Digitally cutting and arranging a selection of my acrylic paintings I’ve created a landscape that is both unserious and threatening with a backdrop of one the few observable infinities - the image of a transparent background. Using the design standard grey and white grid pattern to tighten the endless map of a New Art City space, I hope to create an impactful sequence from the small space of my bedroom, into the infinite container of a transparent background.

Dancing is meant for your FEET not your jaw

Once the idea is had it's value is lost! On to the next!