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Artist Statement:
 Hybrids
are a series of watercolor and egg tempera paintings based
on psychological theories of visual perception. These pieces
appear to be entomological studies of insects, but they
actually explore perception's effect on judgement. The
paintings seek out the boundaries between what we believe to
be factual and that which is fictitious.
My work addresses technology's influence on society in two
primary ways. I first consider the fusion of the organic and
inorganic through the concept of cyborgs. Cyborgs are a
hybrid of machine and organism created to enhance nature.
Evidence of these sci-fi inventions exists in robotics,
prosthetics, DNA testing, cloning, etc. Secondly, I choose
to paint the subjects, rather than digitally render them to
display distrust in our culture's deification of technology.
I use insects as subject matter in my creations for a number
of reasons. Their body structure shows rotational symmetry
which allows the viewer to compare and contrast halves and
quadrants. Also, slight in scale, insects are more often
recognized by the general shapes of their bodies, rather
than the details of their forms. Lastly, insect specimens
are often displayed in natural history museums the same way
art is displayed in galleries.
My choice of objects to morph into insect bodies is based on
the object's similarity in shape to the insect's shape. I
search for easily recognizable inorganic forms that reflect
technological advancements. I enjoy the humor in
recontextualizing common objects by putting them into bug
shapes.
The targets and patterns in Hybrids series A, B, and C
provide viewers with a guide that allows them to mark one
side while viewing another. The overlaid targets and
patterns are employed for their rotational symmetry. This
forces the viewer to either assume both halves are the same
or realize there are differences between each half to
compare and contrast.
It is important that the paintings are rendered in a
detailed, almost photographic manner so that the depicted
objects are easily recognizable. Currently, the computer is
the most precise tool we have. I decided to rival the
computer by choosing one of the oldest painting mediums,
egg-tempera. This is a medium that demands computer-like
precision from the artist because it does not permit
revision. Also, painting in a traditional manner allows for
precise manipulations and alterations of which current
graphic software is incapable. Altering an image to "fool
the eye," as I do, involves issues of representation that
photography simply cannot address, even with imaging
software and advanced dark room techniques.
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