Thirty Eight Square
Thirty Eight Square
Artist's statement:
I’ve always been a “late bloomer”.
One example of this was the rather late introduction to psychedelics & entheogens during my middle-30’s.
What began with the cliche of a friend’s invitation to drop acid on the way to a Further (i.e. post-Jerry Grateful Dead) concert resulted in the (also cliche) utterly transformative self-awakening and a beginning of my coming to terms with how much I’d let deep-set psychological traumas and mental illness stifle my desire and ability to create. A Michael Pollan-esque investigation into the medical research surrounding psychedelics ensued..
When I later experimented with an ego-dissolving dose of psychedelic mushrooms, The outcome was a letter of resignation to my freelance job at the time and my settling upon the subject of my first artistic endeavor in years: me.
This series of works, originally conceived to celebrate my 38th birthday, comprises 12-15 “self-portraits” that rely on self-reflection via semiotics instead of a mirror. Repetitive, tedious processes result in minimalist abstract images that are both open to interpretation and wed with a series of autobiographical titles. As metaphoric facets of a persona, the works and an invitation to question the notions of self and identity.
These are living artworks, some ageing with a limited lifespan, others designed with a fragility that tests fate (and are expected to ultimately lose).
More works and works-in-progress coming soon!
Self Portraits: Number I*(or "Childhood Me")(or "This Clichéed Artist Life, Pt. 1")(or "White Eggshells; Emptied, Discolored & Irregularly Positioned")(or "Bestowed Anxiety")
Not for sale
