Abstract
As evidenced through the emotionally evocative works of Edvard Munch, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Vincent Van Gogh and Hung Liu, the painterly rendering of the human figure unmasks stories of brokenness and transformation. My visual creations establish themselves upon this premise, exploring various psychological states associated with emotional suppression and identity development. Though largely figurative, my paintings engage not just the body, but the soul and the spirit. Thereby probing the mind, whilst elucidating the mortal and fallen nature of mankind. I am moved by personal and relational life subjects whose stories drive my investigations of the body and the mind. The figures in my work traverse past and present realities, at times emerging as children or adults. This creates room for the juxtaposition of emotional expressivity and the vacillating identities experienced at different stages of the lifespan. As such, my work is informed by compelling psychoanalytic theories regarding the lifespan, as present in Erik Erikson’s and Sigmund Freud’s psychosocial and psychosexual stages of development. With respect to the spirit, my paintings are facilitated by a sensitive making process, expressed in Makoto Fujimura’s Theology of Making. As well as a personal and spiritual consciousness of God’s divinity and salvific relationship to mankind. Through a congruent co-establishment with sound poetry and immersive light installations, my paintings transgress the two dimensional plane. Distinctively alluring viewer connection amidst intimate spaces which inspire trust and inner dialogue, as described in Bachelard’s Poetics of Space. Comprehensively, my creations foster introspective reflection. Probing the mind in regard to the universality of human suffering and the endurance of hope, whilst participating in the larger salient conversation regarding psychological wellness and healing.