We delight in our new technology, advancements in medicine and science, but we also fear the consequences of losing control of our privacy, our bodies, our environment and ultimately our own mortality.

Our world is filled with both violence as well as pleasure. We as humans have created much of what we both fear and delight in. We delight in our new technology, advancements in medicine and science, but we also fear the consequences of losing control of our privacy, our bodies, our environment and ultimately our own mortality. With fears of terrorist attacks, nuclear weapons, and random acts of violence, an ever present under current in our society and media, we frequently seek to mitigate this anxiety and combat these events through increased vigilance and surveillance. Through my work, I would like to ask the viewer to consider the space between violence and protection as well as privacy and safety.

I construct objects which are unfamiliar, but add elements that imply function like handles or deep openings which create a gaze similar to that of the dark lens of a surveillance camera. This ambiguous indication of function creates tension and uncertainty in the viewer. The addition of handles and knobs give the sense that the objects must be activated by the “user”, although what that function is and exactly how it is activated remains unclear. Openings in the forms allude to a mysterious interior, a place concealed by shadow. From afar my forms appear to be watching the viewer, at closer inspection one can see very little inside the void. As the eye looks inside, the structure of the form slowly begins to dissolve into darkness or at times become disorienting. I intend for my work to also incite a bodily awareness in the viewer. The openings not only invite speculation and curiosity, but also inherently have their own gaze. The gaze of these objects is made more disconcerting by their angular, aggressive forms which are both seductive, but also violent. Ultimately I am asking the viewer of my work to confront their anxieties, which come with living in our contemporary world.