Interdisciplinary artist, designer, and educator based in Savannah, GA.
We often say that we are running out of time. Overstimulated and overloaded with images and information we suffer from a disintegration of our abilities to see and hear. The accelerated tempo of our living impacts our engagement with the environment. Human-machine interaction is what we are used to, feel comfortable with and often choose over more personal connection with our most immediate surroundings. As an artist I am interested in a visual and auditory exploration of seemingly mundane and uneventful environments; places where time seems to be passing slowly and yet, where steady, constant change takes place. The goal is to invite the audience to slow down, reflect and experience a sense of wonder and renewed appreciation for Nature. Because Nature IS running out of patience and time.
In my process-based approach to image making, I am particularly interested in the visual exploration of a momentary nature of time and space. How our perception of time affects the way we maneuver within the grid of our information-intensive environments that, eventually, often become a series of exclusive and personal realms.
Walking is an integral part of my work and a way of capturing, as I call it, the spirit of a place. I usually start off with a fast pace and then slow down gradually while tuning into my surroundings. Walking is my opportunity to indulge in a brief moment of reflection and contemplation. The more I observe landscapes I move through, the more often I ask myself the same questions:
Is our immediate environment as predictable as we often assume?
Is it familiar because we cast a membrane of knowingness over it, so we no longer see the details?
How and why do we suspend awe in those landscapes?
Our perception of landscapes and time constantly changes as a consequence of technological advancement and constant acceleration. This is especially true in our times when technology and culture interact with each other more than ever.
All the reflecting, intensified by different encounters and conversations during my walks and travels, has been a driving force in my exploration of the environment. The environment that comprises of both natural and urban habitats and has an inherent ability to instill in us a feeling of awe and consequently restore balance to our lives.
As an artist, I have taken on a task to use my observations and collection of raw material to build visual worlds where awe and time reside together. My goal is to recreate spaces, or rather capture those moments, that intrigue and encourage a viewer to find some time for contemplation and reflection. To find that moment we all need to live a healthy and balanced life; an opportunity to slow down and reflect, so that we may witness the whole world stopping in front of our very own eyes.