The overuse of binary thinking is the source of much injustice. Employed as a worldview, it authorizes the placement of people as well as nature into the category of Other. Such a paradigm enables treating "outsiders" with less respect than those from our in-group. In my work, I challenge this model. I strive to find unity in seemingly divergent poles, using imagery from nature as my inspiration.
Organisms that resist categorization provide inspiration along these lines. Carnivorous plants, motile algae, fungi, living fossils, and photosynthetic animals are a few of the label-defying creatures that fit this description. Other examples come from entities that have similar morphology but live in different environments. Parallel forms can also span the boundaries of scale and appear in the microscopic, macroscopic and beyond.
These sources, together with a general study of nature, inspire the flora and fauna that inhabit my work. By combining elements from diverse natural organisms, I create hybrid creatures that straddle multiple domains. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes monstrous, these creatures allow me to further question dualistic assumptions through the manipulation of attraction and repulsion. Unsettling forms and looming sinister figures commingle with pleasing patterns. Worms, tentacles, and other disconcerting imagery appear in vibrant colors and attractive compositions. The conventional binary of beauty vs. ugliness is thus perturbed.
In a further rejection of dualistic paradigms, my paintings explore the concept of abstraction as a continuum. The multiple styles used in my work represent various points along this spectrum, ranging from realistic to non-representational. Recognizable life forms from the naturalistic extreme delve into abstraction through simplification. Increased stylization is shown through flat graphic shapes, which are often repeated to form a pattern. Finally, the greatest degree of abstraction appears in the symbols.
Other stylistic contrasts work towards undermining hegemony. Chaotic areas are juxtaposed against pattern and order. Drips, water marks, and other chance-driven effects underlie controlled line drawings. Light-hearted comic book shapes balance with "scientific" symbols. Flatness/space, realism/abstraction, and symbols/volumes are other combinations I frequently use. No single style or point-of-view dominates.