Arcadia Artwork

Born 1983: I turned to art. Artist Statement. My work oscillates between three states of being.State one, introspection, self-obsession and detachment from the world outside our immediate circle. Generally my earlier works were produced from this state. My first series, I Dont Give a shit Anymore / Why do I Care so Much is a selection of intimate melancholic portraits, mainly of my girl friends, they reflect the internal turmoil, and angst that was initially nurtured as it felt philosophical but eventually just became sad. State two, perceiving the world. In this state everything is objectified, the focus is not on the self, but on the community. I look at these community which I belong not as an insider but rather as a stranger, photographing not the everyday but the spectacular and in a manner that draws out the Alice in Wonderland like nature of the events. My project Family Album is a result of this, a project that I continue to work on exploring different mediums such as photography, paintings and digital drawings. State three, abandonment, loss of self. I have always taken pictures at parties and on nights out, but for a long time I wasnt drinking and remained detached, photographing as an observer. But more recently I have begun to let go more and more, going to parties where boundaries are being pushed further, entering the twilight hour were normal rules no longer apply. The project Light Boxes is a result of this, particularly an interest in the darker side of human nature in the same way as the surrealists. Light Boxes ironically titled, is a series of photo-collages taken usually during one night and are then arranged together on a light box. As a light, the boxes are normally switched off during the day and come alive when switched on again at night. The resultant images create psychological narratives which tell tales of loss, loneliness, emptiness, abandonment, love: searching states of being we are all too familiar with, that we put aside when we go to work but re-enter on a Saturday night.