Artist Statement:
An Ode to Rocks (as perspectives of self)
The root of this exhibition emerged while spending time in nature. During my explorations, I collected rocks I found along the way. They became my muse as I pondered life and consciousness, reflecting on both the powerfulness and the insignificance that is inherent to my being. Each painting is an attempt to gain insight into these juxtaposing thoughts. Throughout the painting process, I contemplated my own spirituality and self-growth, and meditated on my time here on earth by examining and developing different ways of thinking about rocks as I relate them to my own experience of being a human. Working from photographs, memory, imagination, and the rocks themselves, I deliberately created each work distinct from one another in attempt to gain a deeper understanding of what it is to have a soul.
An Ode to Rocks is a proclamation of reverence toward rocks as they teach me about the power of awe and wonder of life. I revere them just as they are, as they enable me to conceptualize my own existence. To be in awe of rocks is to be in awe of the everyday experience of being. Though rocks are not alive and cannot die, they will continue to exist until they do not; as will I. This is my ode to rocks – how I see them and how I see myself – as imitations of immortality.
Click to enlarge image
