These works are at the start of the physical exhibition, so we have put them at beginning of the virtual exhibition also. To continue, follow the arrows to the next Artist..
“I have seen terrible
things and terrible things have seen me.”
To purge myself…to express and
eradicate personal traumas and anxieties from my being is the purpose and reason
for my art. An attempt to re-create these specific impressions in my mind is
what it’s always been about for me.
An emotion, a personal story, a
thought, a memory, a fear, a sickness, an occurrence or tragedy, a passion…a
precise point in my life, the future, the past…the pain. A falacy, a truth, an
adaptation of an image or theory that somehow struck me, something that, however
insubstantial, I was taken with…a pointed or defined idea, a developed hate…a
distinct love.
Something that I did…something that was done to me,
possibly a dream that I might have once had, or in most circumstances-a
nightmare. A heightened hope, an obsession, the remorse, and at times, the
regret. Survival, loss, change…the inexplicable struggle.
To be able to
put it directly in front of myself…to get it out of me and distance myself from
it is something that I have to do in order to understand these things and let
them go.
My paintings serve as protection devices that allow me to
analyze my own experiences and emotions. If I am able to project and capture the
constantly changing impression of an idea that I have in my mind onto/into
something tangible it allows me to experience the matter in its full spectrum.
When I am able to view it from a perspective outside of myself I can understand
it better and ultimately make a kind of peace with it that enables me to either
completely own it or finally lay it to rest. To be able to objectively analyze
something that is completely subjective in its nature is the goal and driving
purpose behind what motivates me and fuels my work.
* * * My
series, "Capacity and Injury" metaphorically involves concepts of the internal
and external injuries inflicted upon us by others and/or resulting from our own
devices. It figuratively explores our capacity to deal with and find meaning
behind what has happened to us, what we have allowed, and also that which we
have done to ourselves. Themes of self-destruction, abuse, illness,
self-sabotage, despair, responsibility, mental-emotional-physical pain,
confrontation, the healing process and self-actualization are investigated
within the portraits.
Each portrait was constructed from memory and
inspired by a specific person in my life whose "struggle" I possess an intimate,
first-hand knowledge of.
The first painting completed was, of course…the
one of myself.
All work oil on Norwegian wood. $400 each ($800
for "Ray Andrew Elkhair III")
