"Beached antique sofa" Painting

ARTIST STATEMENT: My visual arts practice encompasses painting, video and live performance. In a world that perhaps sometimes leaves some room for improvement in terms of how we treat each other, and the planet that sustains us, much of my work (whether painting, performance/public intervention or writing) is concerned with processing "˜stuff' that I see in the world that I live in; with attempting to come to terms with some experience, way of seeing or scientific reality. Some examples of such "˜stuff' might be imbalances in resources, social censure, consumer consciousness, beauty, species extinction, perversely utilitarian power-tripping at the expense of the planet and the "˜common man', and so on. My performance work is usually concerned with engaging viewers around the separation between humanity and the planet; and between the socialized self and (what I call) the "real" self. Project Apology [the project that I am proposing for this residency], is an ongoing video documentation of my undertaking to apologize, in person and as a self-appointed member of humanity, to non-human species on the planet that are being adversely affected by human activity. The project's intent is to use satire as a means to deliver a serious message in an unconventionally and "˜amusingly' palatable, yet provocative manner - in attempting to come to terms, morally and spiritually, with the human implications of our current scientific reality (evidenced, for example, in the current rate of species extinction documented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature - IUCN and the rising incidence of "˜natural' disasters). BRIED BIOGRAPHY: Paul Roux graduated in 1998 from the Michaelis School of Fine Art (University of Cape Town, South Africa). After a detour into advertising and marketing, his re-commitment to the fine arts over the last 10 years has seen a number of awards and solo exhibitions, as well as financial awards for further study at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His work is represented in collections in Europe, South Africa and the US. Based between South Africa and the greater Los Angeles area, he is currently continuing to develop his own work.