Biography
Our relationships with objects are much like ones we have with people. Some belong without reason and may accompany us for a short time, we remember them because we were crazy about them; while other objects we find repugnant through experiences and are inclined to not approach or understand them again. These frequently obsessive, unjust feelings point back to our childish whims. There is no doubt in these small things painted, as we realize we miss them.
The recollection of toys and play manifested in these paintings are inspired specifically by mass produced dollar store items. Titles such as Slamrocket $1.00 recall the pursuit of rudimentary pleasure within a bound price-point. The artificiality of the toy’s material is revealed through the blunt hues almost straight from a tube of paint. By working small scale, no larger than a square foot, I create the paintings impulsively echoing the intimate enthusiasm a child holds every time a new toy is in their hands.
Through abstraction of setting, scale, and placement, the objects are separated from their original purpose. The addition of each toy to the large body of paintings creates relationships between them as repetition of color, form, and functions are apparent. These traits are sometimes quirky simultaneously pointing at the objects peculiarities and addressing social concerns. Gender role-play, violence and drug use are implied by the placement of cropped imagery suggesting the female or male anatomy, and exaggerating forms such as a trigger or suggesting a kazoo to appear as a pipe. These nuances play with childhood fixations that later develop into adult indulgences. Close ups suggest what is left out of the picture plane and up for imagination; it is then apparent how these toy objects may insignificantly or essentially live on through us. The viewer imagines holding, interacting, and engaging with the toys as a child or as an adult recalling the impact of the toy as an icon. These vantage points are essential to the question of what is commonplace and what is extraordinary.
