I collect pictures. My collection, once only of anonymous personal snapshots, has now grown to include images available in the public sphere: our cultural snapshots. These images show us how others live, presumably, and how we sometimes wish our own lives to be. Through them, can I tap into collective habits, aspirations and desires.
I draw from low-budget and utilitarian sources. This includes real estate & Ebay listings, shipping supply catalogues, coupon circulars, municipal and commercial development websites. Through these, I can observe seemingly insignificant slices of others' real lives. My attention tends to focus on under and unused spaces: highway medians, industrial park landscaping, ceiling panels, underneath furniture, and out windows.
I paint, duplicate, re-photograph and collage these images in order to frame, refresh and allow overlooked details to show. After studying my imagery carefully, I form an entry, obstructing obvious aspects in favor of the incidental. I focus on settings, moods and periphery hoping to find answers to my own questions and to encourage question asking. When was this picture taken? By whom? For what purpose? These environments also welcome the act of simply stopping and looking at the unobserved. We become voyeurs when looking, projecting ourselves into the spaces.