I wanted this new work to have less tension then my previous images. I wanted to invoke a new kind of "loudness", a new type of mind play. The relationship between the image and its surroundings had to fuse, melt and co-exist, a dialogue had to be established. The atmosphere is that of want and will, reflective in I am investigating what shapes and motivates human emotion, fantasy and behavior.
The image becomes a figure then becomes the muse. Storytelling and myths are very intriguing to me. Since myths are an explanation of how we experience events internally; they cannot be "verified" since they are our emotional reactions. I like this idea of haziness, kind of untouchable fact, the fact of the speaker, the conviction of the speaker. In the aspect of my photography and also my printmaking this comes into play. The viewer has been taught or conditioned to remain a little guarded when viewing Art.
There has always been the forewarning of visual trickery. I like that idea: that the viewer is already questioning and hyper-sensitized. Through what I have loosely regarded as "scientific illustrations" I have started my etchings of body mapping the insides; heart, mind, soul. It is a mix of topographical imaging and slices of the inside. This is an exploration of the soul, of dream state and personal mythology in terms of both reality and the stories we tell about it. I am dealing with interior and exterior space pulling out and over lapping energies and stages. I want to be able to evoke not just negative connotations with these feelings but suggest positive counterparts. It is our active mind that reminiscences and recollects through all these states, remembering the past and thinking about the present and future. I am exploring absence, longing, memory and loss, working with the themes of lightness and darkness.
Contact: oneill.fineart@gmail.com