Harsh 2012 Print

I am interested post-structuralism developed by Jacques Derrida and Roland Barthes and post-modern thinkers such as Frank Lyotard and Albert Camus. These individuals have influenced my work and made me evaluate meaning as open ended questions opposed to answers and outcomes. My work is a mix of mediums and subjects that stand alone or go together. I have worked in various forms including painting, sculpture, installation, performance and sound. They each form different aspects of myself including the social and political context in which I find myself. My practice stems from a conclusion that as humans we are not one dimensional and usually have many interests and concerns that stay the same or change over time. I try to find a pathway with my work which is both relevant to the current times and at the same time without dictating the meaning or explanation. Somewhere between the description and the explanation is the space I try to inhabit. From Realism on the one hand to political activism on the other. I try to deal with the Current issues such as Donald Trump and Britain’s exit from the European Union in works such as blocked and Silver Bullet. (I like to think about debates that are sometimes too close or new to formulate a perspective such as Selfie Stick) I try to ask philosophical questions relating to the moral, intellectual and cultural climate in works such as I’m so embarrassed of my tedious life and Selfie Stick. It is the open ended question with the undefined answer that interests me mostly. Past projects are concerned with everyday rational utilitarian objects such as a bus stop or road signs. In our daily lives these objects have familiar functions and form a tapestry of visible sign but usually go unnoticed. I call them invisible icons. These signs are part of the rational world of order and control. I like the short conciseness of the signs. They have their own logical authority. I have attempted to use these objects as social commentary reflecting or critiquing the hang over of Modernism and progress.