TECHNO-MYTHOLOGY

As an undergrad at the University of New Hampshire I thought I would be a chemist or an astronomer. Exploring the properties of different elements and compounds or discovering humanities place in the universe. However, a childish part of me was still in love with creating. I came to realize that by studying art I could explore materials and search for answers.

With the powerful stature and gestural grace of my work I reference classical sculpture and the idea of the heroic. The figures are reinvented as temporal beings that do not stand still in time but move through it, threatening to be lost in time at any moment. The figures seem to suffer from the pressures and forces of the world they exist in but do not dissolve completely. They push back and hold their position in space, establishing their human presence.

Every ‘thing’ is subject to entropy, decay, and dissolution. This is a fundamental force and it is not opposed by but complemented by forces of order. Highest amongst the forces of order is life and humanity. I reflect the delicate balance between these forces in my work by jumping back and forth between careful observation and destruction. I flow between states of precision sculpting and annihilation of information. By subjecting each material to this process it displays their attributes and creates tension between the form and rawness of the material.

Each figure becomes a character in the saga of human life stretching from prehistory into the near future. Tales of who we were and what we may become. They are modern mythologies; visual stories invented to seek truths about humaniity.

The generations of technology are becoming shorter at an exponential rate. 'Plugged In' questions what effect that has on human generations and at what point do we become trans-human. The sculpture is of a mother and child. While the mother has its own colorful and perhaps cultural look, the child is metallic and illuminates with blue LED light.

In large part humans have the same brains as we did one million years ago. Emotionally, biochemically, and intellectually we are in many ways still apes yet we wield technology with great power that is constantly advancing at great speed. So fast in fact that we have little idea where it is actually going yet we hold on and accept that our fates are tied together. Ride or Die is an allegorical sculpture with the blindfolded chimp representing humanity and the motorcycle technology.

Prayer is a dynamic look at the merging of robotics and humanity. When looking into the future typically we wonder how machines will effect mankind. This sculpture looks at how mankind may effect machines as their parent/creator. What traits and traditions may get passed on?

The man who couldn't feel is a personal a deeply emotional piece based on my experience with loss. It serves in the show to illustrate the ability and perhaps willingness of people to disconnect with their biology.

Our increasing connectivity with and dependence on technology is discussed in the sculpture and video of Behind the Veil.

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