Throughout my childhood, my parents enforced a “New Food Rule” for my sister and I to abide by. As the title suggests, if there was a new food, you had to try it. You didn’t have to swallow it but you had to experience it to see if you liked it. This is how I navigate my practice; through experimenting, tasting, and finding what works for my palette and what doesn’t. As I continue to navigate my practice, I have specifically latched onto colour theory, human behaviour, and inventing new imagery to live in this world.
In my practice, the position of the viewer and their interaction with the work is considered just as important as the work itself. It is important for me to be playful in how I create and display my work. I don't think you should ever take anything too seriously. Movement and performance play a key role in the development of an optic flow field, where each piece flows into the other by sharing the energy and space. My biggest inspirations stem from expressionism, fashion, nature, dance, poise, music, provisional gesture and the energy created by colour. You can never see the same thing, in the same way twice.
Bob Nickas, in the essay, “Persistence of Abstraction” explains that one of the goals of contemporary painting is to “create a world that does not exist until the days it was painted”. This quote has stuck with me as it concisely articulates my starting point for each project. Through painting, textile work and installation, my goal is to develop an immersive environment for the body. My main focus is to think about how I am contributing to the bigger picture and how I can challenge another's perspective.