Guardian 12
2010
Gouache on paper
22 x 22
In a recent series of paintings, I conflate multiple masks into a singular form. I construct a space where each form, or individual identity, retains a relative distinctiveness while forced to merge with the contrasting identities around it. Repeating layers of pattern and unsettling contrasts of color interrupt an immediate recognition of individual heads; by making it difficult to discern what one is looking at, my intention is to make the viewer more aware of the act of looking in the very act of doing so, an informed awareness of the limits of any type of representation to describe complicated and historically loaded relationships.
