In Being Human, the works draw from the artist’s lived experience of a consistent meditative practice during periods of change, when core personal beliefs were being challenged. Each installation is a moment captured as a mental landscape, brought about through learnt observation of underlying emotions. Action painting in this body of work is an active performance of the self, where the multiple layers of volatile markmaking simulate the effects of consistent thought processes over a period of time. Canvas panels are installed linearly, indicative of time passing. They are unstretched, suggestive of impermanence and the potential for transformation. The visual language created illustrates the complexities of mental and emotional states, their transitory nature, and fluidity.
Mindscapes is a work conducted as a social experiment in the representation of diversity of the inner experiences of individuals. Rather than creating works that referenced the artist’s own emotional states, participants were asked to share how they experienced a 12 hour period by associating it with colour. This collection of paintings draws upon theories of intersectionality by reframing them to dwell in the realm of emotional experience rather than socio-political discourse. Colours were not given specific associations, allowing participants to give their subjective interpretations of their emotional state. The title of each painting given by the participants assigns meaning to the set of colours chosen.The differences in interpretation of emotion expressed through colour further highlight the diversity in interpretations of self.
