2023
Following my exhibition Being Tree at Sivarulrasa Gallery early in 2023, I experimented with different size and shape formats of painting panels and with sculptural elements
Mirroring, a large rectangle panel (which in size and format references a full-size mirror) is a two-sided painting. I was interested in the concept of different systems mirroring each other: in this painting, the human figure and a tree/plant form. Mirroring refers back to my title of the show Being Tree and also signals a shift in format, concept, and materials.
Other paintings done during 2023 extend the notion of mirroring and interspecies exchange, in particular, the possibilities of symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationships between different organisms and species, for example, the complementary processes of photosynthesis and respiration.
Above: Mirroring, various views, oil, mixed media on wood panel, 152 x 30.5 x 2.54 cm The two-sidedness of Mirroring offers conceptual and sculptural considerations. I see the ‘back’ of the painting as the inside, as if the painting, like the human body and tree referenced, has an inside. On this side is a painting of lichens, some real ross, burn marks and birchbark lining the frame of the panel. Lichens, as an indicator species, can signal changes in biological condition of an ecosystem.
Below: Two works using oil paint on aluminum panels. The aluminum itself is a mirrored surface and is used to explore the notion of exchange in the natural world.
The paintings below are all square format, various sizes, and oil on wood panels.
