Artist Statement


 

As a paper cutter, I endeavor to create a dialog between the traditional technique of paper cutting (kirie) and contemporary art and thought, thus allowing these narratives and concepts to reflect and comment upon universal expressions of the human condition. My process pendulums between deliberate and intuitive, tightly controlled technique and flights of the imagination.

Thematically, I'm fascinated by the often-violent, often-sublime convergence of humankind, the natural world, and our secret personal mythologies. Relationships form the core of my work; most recently the symbiotic and parasitic alliances and inter-dependencies which spring to life in congested urban environments as well as in our more personal microcosms. My inter-cultural life, first in Tokyo and now in Fukuoka, informs my thought-process with those most human of needs - acceptance, inclusion, communication. Mythology, American pop culture and Japanese tradition mingle in the work, giving form to a wondrous, dangerous and familiarly alien world of emotion, spirit and thought.

There is a primitive quality to paper. It is rough, textured, basic, pure. Jagged-edged cuts crash against soft curves and spirals. Deep, tactile textures and saturated colors flow alongside ancient patterns and the natural grain of wood. The technique I use to assemble these cut-paper pieces blurs the boundary between flat and dimensional. Each piece is assembled like a puzzle; shapes, colors and textures slide into place, create form and focus, add context and meaning. Receding layers sink back into the work while others burst out from the surface. Light and shadow play along the rough folds and layers, creating a work that exists in real space, that asks to be touched, that yearns to connect.