Artist Statement
My painting series, “Xenogenesis Cycle”, functions as a measured therapeutic response to the challenges occurring in my life because of mental health struggles. I create paintings with the goal of reflecting upon the only thing that feels real and truthful to me: the representation of EMOTIONS.
I have an effective painting method which enables me to visually depict this inner truth. I begin by utilizing a performative painting style. You could basically compare the initial stages of my painting process to dancing with a paintbrush in hand. This uncontrolled, unfiltered form of mark-making visually conveys various facets of my ever-shifting emotional state.
I’ve crafted unique tools to focus on bolder, emotionally charged mark-making, chief among them being a set of paintbrushes duct-taped to the ends of long sticks. Through the frantic energy of my brushstrokes, I can indirectly influence viewers to see and feel what I felt, emotionally, throughout the painting’s creation.
As a form of art therapy, the content of my Senior Thesis allows me to address my struggles with mental health issues, by providing me with an outlet to constructively reflect on my fears and frustrations in a visual medium. Ultimately, I hope that the content of my BFA thesis starts a conversation amongst viewers about mental health or makes them feel something, too.
