Artist Statement
I have been motivated to explore and interpret identity and self-consciousness in society, and to express this in my sculptural works. Our modern world seems to be consumed with an appetite for economic expansion that can never be fully satisfied. This global value manifests itself in the degradation of human interaction and communication. On an individual level, we see that people have lost their own identity while becoming more and more alienated from one another. I have great concern and distress as I view the world in this current condition. I take the energy of these feelings and use them to express my hope for humanity, for others, and for myself.
The process of making conscious choices of what we want in our life or how we choose to be defined is not always an easy task. I believe the resolve inside us must be strong and durable in order to prevail against the pervasive global values. To express these ideas, I choose to work in stone, steel, and wood. I use great force to change the rigid nature of these materials into the forms I choose. Thick steel bends during forging and hammering. Thin wires are welded together. Weak things overlap and connect with each other to become strong. Each element makes an undeniable contribution to the whole. I want these substances to individually represent the required strength that is needed to withstand the greater forces of nature. Admittedly, these materials have their limitations, but then, so do you and I. In my working process, I experience both the conflict and the dignity inherent to the human condition.
It is my goal and my purpose of my work to share my ideas with many people, and my sincere desire to motivate others to seek their own identity and their connection to humanity. I encourage the observers of my works to relate their own experience to the ideas I examine as I convey the conflicts that we as humans experience in our lives as well as the boldness and the dignity of the human spirit. I want viewers to experience for themselves the dichotomy inherent in our human condition. I work from the intention that my personal experiences with life and the explorations of my feelings and observations, which are communicated through my artistic expressions, will act as a catalyst for introspection.