Recently I had a to write an artist statement about my body of work thus far. I haven’t had to write an artist statement since I was in university, so I was very rusty to say the least. Anyway, it was great practice for me to start thinking critically about my work again and not just the visuals.
Side note about what prompted me to share it here:
I went to TCAF (Toronto Comic Arts Festival) this weekend and had the pleasure of listening to Danish illustrator Tatiana Goldberg talk about psychological thrillers in comic art and books (possibly my favourite genre of books, movies and video games). It was a very interesting talk. She broke down facial features, gender roles, environments, colours and more. It really opened my eyes to what intention you have for a piece, understanding why you choose what you choose. Not just leaning on what you like but knowing why it works. So to wrap this up, I plan on doing research again in order to back up my statements because I feel like the artist statement below is still a bit raw, still a bit subjective, and that’s ok. I’m still a work in progress.
Artist Statement
I have a bit of an obsession with opposites. For example, the natural and fantastic, life and death and the divine and profane. These portraits serve as the first faces in my artistic narrative. With each portrait I am continuously learning new techniques, refining my artistic abilities and voice. Currently I am exploring our relationship with nature, the universe and death. I’ve illustrated several fairies who are young and glowing. It is uncertain when death will find them and their fauna, if it will be gentle or wild when it arrives. However, death’s presence is certain and always lingering.