Artist's Statement

Every object exists in two worlds. One is the tangible that we know through our senses and another that exists only in our minds. It is in this mental realm where objects take on the properties of metaphor and meaning. These are seldom fixed but exist in a fluid dance where associations are changed as easily as masks at a costume ball. In my work, I play with these complex associations to create rich metaphorical structures. Like the frontispieces of old books, I try to speak volumes through a single image.

Although some elements in my work depict ‘real’ things, many objects have never had a tangible physical existence. These elements are modeled completely inside the world of a computer. They are ghosts made of nothing more substantial than numbers; yet they seemingly share space with objects that have both physicality and history. My method of working mimics light itself, one beam at a time, in a process that can take from hours to days to complete and involves literally trillions of calculations.

Lenses and mirrors are common in my work. I have removed the lens from the image-making process and placed it within the image itself. Like any depiction, lenses represent a point of view and a narrow focus. What they reveal often overpowers what is excluded by their gaze. Mirrors are a metaphor for art itself as well as the process of self-knowledge and discovery. They are also part of the tricks of mind and eye: smoke and mirrors. The camera was the first machine of depiction, and for a time we believed it to tell only the truth. In the end, perhaps all the images we create share a strange mixture of magic, truth, and illusion. And in this soil sprouts metaphor, which is the source of meaning.

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