Between
As a nonbinary artist, my most recent work has been an expression of my own gender identity. I find paint to be an ideal medium to play with the many ambiguities and contradictions present in the experience and perception of gender. In my paintings, I aim to express a feeling of freedom from biology and societal norms. Many of my works feature images of nude bodies layered and merged until surface signifiers vanish and they become just joyful human forms in motion. Others create imaginary scenes that subvert gender stereotypes.
My paintings are celebrations of life lived in between. Many are composed of images from sequential photos and video footage, layered in semi-transparent veils, digitally altered, and translated into the language of paint. Multiple views of moving figures blur together with brightly colored shapes and abstract forms. There is a suggestion of space and movement – an expanded photographic moment – but the layering of images makes looking difficult. While the original media imagery is designed to be quickly consumed and easily digested, the paintings resist a viewer’s gaze. They demand a slower, deeper look.