Throughout the last six months I have been involved with ideas of religion and spirituality. I mainly focus on what they mean to me and how they are applied in the world today.
I am constantly drawn to the ideals of religion, and I felt a need to create artwork to portray the growth of my understandings on religion. My work translates my opinions, knowledge and experiences of religion and the spiritual.
I created a series of work which consists of sculpture, but chiefly paintings. Within all of my pieces there is reference to spirituality and religious symbolism through colour, shape and line.
Spirituality is a state of body and mind, where one may transcend to another point or stage in life through experience. If spirituality was to be visually described, it would be vibrant and rhythmic. Spirituality can also be found through meditation, creating a personal environment, or simply by going for a scenic walk. My paintings are a method to view this state. Spiritual artist, which I am inspired by include Agnes Martin, Mark Rothko and James Turrell. I have also taken a mixture of ideas from other artists, including Sarah Morris, Beatriz Milhaze and Jim Lambie. I researched other art concepts such as, The Renaissance, Pop and Op Art and various other cultural and tribal arts, which all helped me a great deal, to understand and appreciate how different individuals, different cultures and even different generations expressed spirituality. I was able to find a contemporary way to portray modern day spirituality.
I always have a pre-conceived idea of what I want in all of my work. I place my shapes in a completely imaginary space, which encompasses energy, wild colour combinations and light. It is a space that is completely alien, but these shapes and patterns seem to naturally correspond with the environment of the paintings. These painted settings are not harmonious or peaceful, they are busy and energetic giving off a vibration of a low hum.
I create a simulated world, placing the viewer somewhere that is neither real nor fictional. It is mysterious, and I want the viewer to question my work as their response. We as human beings have an innate possession of imagination, thus we can question anything such as, what could happen in life, death, time, space, etc. Unfortunately, we will never really know the answer to everything. Therefore, mystery and wonder is a key part of my work.
The shapes in my work are taken directly from thoughts of individuals, and what they consider to be symbols of God through subtle connections like, circles, lines and light. Due to the way I place these shapes and symbols on the canvas, they become decorative and spirited. Even though the paintings are carefully layered with repetitive shapes placed on the canvas to construct a pattern, they always appear to be flat on the backgrounds I create. The process of making my paintings is similar to collage. I appreciate the fact that I am not obtaining random materials and arranging them onto a backing, as one would when producing a collage; but I do feel the process of which I layer my work, and position my shapes, is as though I am delicately applying material to my canvases, applying the collage technique, using paint as oppose to assorted materials.
The decorative style and bright colours that I use, could be described as beautiful and majestic, but it could go opposite and be on the verge of repulsion, due to random colours that I use and the very fact that it is decorative, but I like the fact that my work could be seen either way.
Other issues are explored in my work, such as lust greed and envy, all the things that could be considered sinful. I then mentally manipulate them to create these spiritual dimensions that are being engulfed by bad or dark forces. I do this through colour and intense layering. In most of my work, you may get a sense, that there is a threatening and disturbing energy emerging. A lack in faith contributes to this, and a lack of religion. This is then increased by the intervention of science, thus creating a blasé attitude to lust, envy, power and temptation. The sin commonly seeps into the world and this is portrayed in my work. The scale, shades and density of all the shapes vary within my work; no two are the same, making them unique. This is to signify the unseen forces of the world (which many people believe to be present) that may manipulate individuals. Some at times can be more powerful than others at any given time. Some positive, some negative.
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