May 2021
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May 2021
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Describe what you do creatively.
I make paintings that explore visual perception. I am fascinated by the ways that sight can be ambiguous and misleading; the slippages that occur between what our eyes tell us, and what is actually there.
Do you identify as an artist, illustrator, designer or something else?
I’m a curious human, first and foremost. I identify as an artist, and I see art as overlapping and interacting with other fields of enquiry and knowledge-making.
Do you stick to a defined stylistic direction in your work?
Yes.
If so, describe that direction and what led to that decision.
In returning to university to study a Bachelor of Psychological Science, I became captivated by the neuroscience of visual perception specifically. Learning about sight as an ambiguous process that occurs in the brain, rather than the trustworthy transmission of external reality through the eyes, presented an entry point to broader questions: how do humans come to see and understand the world? In what ways is this process subjective, embodied, illusory, incomplete? This has all led to an obsession with abstract painting involving colour play, in order to draw attention to this perceptual process.
What colours and/or shapes excite you?
I’m really excited by relationships between colours, and different phenomena that occur when the human eye perceives colour. For example, the colour a person perceives indicates the wavelength of light being reflected by a surface. The longer the wavelength of the colour, the closer it is generally perceived to be. Cool colours generally appear to recede whereas warm colours advance because of their different wavelengths. Placing colours like orange/pink and blue/green near to or over the top of each other can therefore create interesting and contradictory spatial readings. I have learnt to be especially careful with red – since it has the longest wavelength of all, it really jumps forward. In terms of shapes, right now I am working on compositions with overlapping layers of circles and ellipses. I like playing with the illusion of ‘portals’ to confuse depth and surface, and these shapes are proving fun in that regard.
I make paintings that explore visual perception. I am fascinated by the ways that sight can be ambiguous and misleading; the slippages that occur between what our eyes tell us, and what is actually there.
Do you identify as an artist, illustrator, designer or something else?
I’m a curious human, first and foremost. I identify as an artist, and I see art as overlapping and interacting with other fields of enquiry and knowledge-making.
Do you stick to a defined stylistic direction in your work?
Yes.
If so, describe that direction and what led to that decision.
In returning to university to study a Bachelor of Psychological Science, I became captivated by the neuroscience of visual perception specifically. Learning about sight as an ambiguous process that occurs in the brain, rather than the trustworthy transmission of external reality through the eyes, presented an entry point to broader questions: how do humans come to see and understand the world? In what ways is this process subjective, embodied, illusory, incomplete? This has all led to an obsession with abstract painting involving colour play, in order to draw attention to this perceptual process.
What colours and/or shapes excite you?
I’m really excited by relationships between colours, and different phenomena that occur when the human eye perceives colour. For example, the colour a person perceives indicates the wavelength of light being reflected by a surface. The longer the wavelength of the colour, the closer it is generally perceived to be. Cool colours generally appear to recede whereas warm colours advance because of their different wavelengths. Placing colours like orange/pink and blue/green near to or over the top of each other can therefore create interesting and contradictory spatial readings. I have learnt to be especially careful with red – since it has the longest wavelength of all, it really jumps forward. In terms of shapes, right now I am working on compositions with overlapping layers of circles and ellipses. I like playing with the illusion of ‘portals’ to confuse depth and surface, and these shapes are proving fun in that regard.
What is your relationship with chaos?
Constant oscillation. The challenge is remaining open to some degree of chaos even as a work approaches resolution. I try to resist feeling locked-in to a composition, or totally sure of what the outcome will be, and this has become an important part of my methodology.
Do you take risks or play it safe?
Risks are scary but I try to embrace them. I think as you continue to learn as an artist you develop and hone your own visual vocabulary. I often find myself having slowly and deliberately weighed up the next colour or shape to paint when an internal voice will suddenly bark an alternative. Bending to that intuition always feels dicey, but I have learnt to let it dictate because it produces more interesting results. My approach is generally high risk, high reward.
What discourages you from being creative?
Lack of time and space.
What are you expecting from the RMXTV experience?
To try new things, get loose, and make mess. To be surprised, frustrated, daunted, and probably reminded of Samuel Beckett’s words, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” I am thrilled to partake!
What do you know about the RMX projects?
RMX is unpredictable. Every project emerges from a series of prompts or limitations. It is all about play and experimentation in a format that is non-judgemental, collaborative, and embraces chance.
Constant oscillation. The challenge is remaining open to some degree of chaos even as a work approaches resolution. I try to resist feeling locked-in to a composition, or totally sure of what the outcome will be, and this has become an important part of my methodology.
Do you take risks or play it safe?
Risks are scary but I try to embrace them. I think as you continue to learn as an artist you develop and hone your own visual vocabulary. I often find myself having slowly and deliberately weighed up the next colour or shape to paint when an internal voice will suddenly bark an alternative. Bending to that intuition always feels dicey, but I have learnt to let it dictate because it produces more interesting results. My approach is generally high risk, high reward.
What discourages you from being creative?
Lack of time and space.
What are you expecting from the RMXTV experience?
To try new things, get loose, and make mess. To be surprised, frustrated, daunted, and probably reminded of Samuel Beckett’s words, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” I am thrilled to partake!
What do you know about the RMX projects?
RMX is unpredictable. Every project emerges from a series of prompts or limitations. It is all about play and experimentation in a format that is non-judgemental, collaborative, and embraces chance.