I want viewers to be lured by the beauty of nature and ensnared by the conscience of conservation. What we assume to be an endless supply is, in fact, an illusion. But the gold metal is merely a perception of gold, representing a false sense of abundance. The gold symbolizes wealth and opulence and nature becomes seen as a commodity. The surface mimics the clarity and sheen of water, though the material is synthetic. My materials suggest a subtext of desire and falsehood. These prints are then scanned in, reconfigured, then printed with Archival UV cured acrylic ink on cast acrylic and gilded with gold metal leaf. What do we prioritize and what are we willing to sacrifice for one or the other?Īfter digitally manipulating composited photos, I create prints that I handwork on rice paper. The juxtaposition of nature and commerce places these values vying for attention in the same space. I create photomontages that interweave images of nature celebrated against a backdrop of stock indexes from financial newspapers. What does it look like to paint in a world in which we communicate more frequently with emails, texts, and tweets? Just as tube paint influenced the Impressionists, how does modern day technology affect contemporary painting? I seek to give form to the ever increasing infusion of technology into our lives through the painting process. The lines between the hand of man and machine become blurred. The precision of the dots created by the digital processes bleeds and blooms as the water infiltrates the ink. After printing these images directly onto the newspaper, I paint onto them with water to establish a dialog between chance and equation, mechanical and man made. My colors are mixed with numbers and values rather than with the pushing and pulling of paint, far from the spontaneity and immediacy of Chinese brush painting. Using technology and digital processes, I navigate the digital and physical worlds of painting. As consumption increases, what gets devoured? My work echoes this sentiment but contemplates the role of nature in contemporary culture. Chinese brush painting was often used as a mode to meditate on nature. My imagery references Chinese brush painting, drawing inspiration from Chinese masters such as Shen Zhou, Qi Baishi, and Chao Shao-an. The process of laboriously coating the sheets with plastic creates a subtext of mass production and fabrication. These pieces are then each coated in packaging tape and assembled together. They are then printed and painted onto separate sheets of financial newspapers. Compositions of animals, flowers, and trees, reminiscent of Chinese brush painting, are digitally painted. In my work, I contemplate nature's role as commodity in contemporary life. The relationship between nature and commerce, and the aesthetic boundaries of painting, collage, and digital art are themes that I explore in this series.
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