There are moments in our lives which shape the individuals we become. These experiences, no matter how big or small, leave everlasting impressions in our memories that reveal themselves through our habitual practices and interactions with others. Over time our memories can be recalled, faded, or completely altered. As I explore this fact with my own experiences I find myself overwhelmed by the way the human consciousness has deciphered the emotions tethered to each memory. I aim to capture these emotions through my art. I hope to explore nostalgia, mental health, and interpersonal relationships through intimate narrative scenes that involve the human figure and domestic spaces. These scenes reflect this personal confrontation through fragmented space and color juxtaposition.

 

The scenes depicted within my work are constructed from recollections of emotional moments that elicit complex sentiments. While these moments are personal and mundane in their practice alone, I utilize this commonality(or familiarity) as a way for the viewer to connect their own experiences. I fragment the scene with strategies such as disintegration and overlaying. By doing so I allude to the relationship of memory and time as something constantly in flux with one another and changing. Patterning is used to break the picture plane while also using repeating motifs as a way to comment on the cyclical nature of thoughts and habits. To depict this intrusion I find myself drawn to compositions that feel crowded and confrontational with the viewer. The figures in the paintings represent the psyche and are depicted as either ghostlike or extremely heavy in space. This ambiguity creates tension and raises questions whether or not the figure is present in that space or a memory. Color is a huge contributor to the narrative of each scene as I play with the interaction of color to destabilize the picture plane by using split complement color schemes. With the use of this schema I find myself able to display nostalgic themes as contradictory emotions as some memories could begin as tender but over time spoiled. This becomes a metaphor for how a memory is fabricated or ruined.

 

 By constructing scenes to examine the connection with myself and the audience as we collectively confront complex emotional scenes.  I depict scenes that express important emotional and interpersonal connections within my personal life. The way memory impacts us through life is the holistic experience and by examining the relationship of the figures within spaces I hope to make connections for myself and the viewer.