STATEMENT
For me, art is the fundamental metaphysical activity of humankind. The impressionist artist Paul Cézanne stated that art and nature present themselves as two parallel harmonies, existing alongside one another, thereby being equal. It is these liminal spaces, the transitional overlap between two ideas, that I find fascinating. The most common and ancient of these spaces exist in the threshold between culture and nature.
My subject matter consists mainly of landscapes. I am a printmaker who uses mainly intaglio methods, stone lithography, and monotypes I often host other artist at my studio where I run an open-door policy. Part time teaching at various art centres allows me to share knowledge and collaborate with other artist in all age groups. The implication of this means a high level of exploration of both the territories of the subject matter as well as process. I believe that I can’t solve all problems by myself, so I rely on other practitioners for insight and feedback in process and technique, as well as concept and execution. I value cross-disciplinary insights to understand how other fields of practice have solved similar problems. To this end, Gregory Bateson – who uses solutions of systems found in natural world to answer human societal problems – is an intellectual hero.
In ‘Steps to an Ecology of Mind’ Gregory Bateson makes two important observations. The first is that human beings act in ways that are destructive to systems (ecological and societal) because we do not see the interdependencies between natural systems in our own lives. The second observation is that change in one part of a system can be manifested in an entirely different part of the system in unexpected different ways.
As artist, my work is concerned with the increasingly complex relationship we as humans have with our natural environment. As we build our cities, develop societies and economies, I observe less integration with nature and more commodification and manipulation of nature to fit (nearly always) an economic imperative. What I propose is a collective acceptance and value judgment of our natural environment to understand our much needed transition over the threshold to establish a sustainable coexistence. I aim to show the simplistic beauty of the land, the complexity of cultural systems and sophistication of nature to inspire us to a higher acceptance of collective responsibility, discourse and education to nurture that which houses us. Bateson argued that mankind tries to control nature rather than understand the ways we are depended on it. He concludes that this leads to a loss of balance within environmental systems on which humans are ultimately dependent.
“The unit of survival is organism plus environment. We are learning by bitter experience that the organism which destroys its environment destroys itself.” – Bateson
Through collective practice and reflection, artists can play a leading role in establishing a more sustainable future. Artist show what can be and what ought to be, and this gives us hope. “We have art so that we shall not die of reality” – Nietzsche
