Hybrid Memories
Tracking the self and retracing the usable-past, to develop new visual narratives, reveals an important thread of discourse. To wit, consider portraiture; consider the still life. Potent social commentary in the 1600s and late 1800s. People stylishly depicted in their personal spaces; the luxurious nature of their everyday things around them.
Heading into the 20th Century this work artfully recorded a fragmenting society through fractured faces, disintegrating objects and dis-assembled spaces. But still beautifully rendered with dramatic colors and patterns.
At the same time, a culture of aesthetic-redaction commenced questioning the nature of art. An inquiry mutating over time into an art of non-realities. Detached from any aesthetic concerns, this art of concept also de-stabilized the relationship between truth and fiction.
To wit, consider conceptual art as censorship - the inherent censoring of aesthetics. Fast forward to now. Self-contained identities grow boundless. The indulgence of self a global activity. Spaces people occupy, and their personae, morph at will from one style-construct to another.
The familiar objects that populate our lives cease to be concrete. While luxury articulates the new consumer standard. All this results in a dis-connect from the aesthetic pleasures that fulfill us. And, meanwhile, the tyranny of concept still overrides creative output at the expense of artistic appreciation.
In addressing this aesthetic disregard, my work reconnects with those historical cultural- weavings through that relationship of portraiture to still life. In new combinings of human and possession, extracts from my usable past (and present) are merged with virtual interior-spaces.
The images, supported by some of my luxurious everyday-things, rematerialize aspects of my lived experience -demonstrating that memories are both actual and artificial. As well as producing new socio-cultural recordings that encourage pleasure-in-viewing.

Most recently -
Still images in 2011: four Honorable Mentions in the WPGA ‘People and Portraits’ 2011 competition as well as a merit award, (again with WPGA) for an entry into ‘Beauty Around Us’ 2011.
This recognition set the momentum for 2012 which has continued with another still image (later to feature in a new video-work) being awarded an Honorable Mention in the ‘Donnie 2012’ juried international at MOCA Virtual Museum.
But 2012 is the year of the animeSTILLLIFE©: finished works are now being submitted to one or two festival/competitions a month - however the invitation from Lopdell House Gallery, last year, to mount a solo exhibition featuring this stop-frame animation work is arguably the highlight and means it will be a very busy time until April 19.