Artist Statement:
" All of my paintings can be divided into separate but interconnected series. Two of my current projects revolve around the series Into the Void and Boundaries. Reminiscent of Yves Klein's infamous leap, Into the Void deals with figures jumping or falling into an undefined painterly space, an unknown territory, physically or mentally. The abstract background that is often composed with loose paint strokes, interacts with the figures which are more solid and naturalistic, through painterly overlap, somewhat carrying or holding them. It is this in-between state of the solitary decision to dare and jump until the arrival into the unknown that interests me — the essential courage for change, for letting go, dispersing and disappearing even, and having faith in oneself, stretched into eternity. Boundaries is similarly dealing with letting go and having faith. As in much of my work, a solitary figure places the viewer in the position of voyeur, who bares witness to the attempts at self exploration and expression. I am keen to explore the boundaries of freedom, as well as the boundaries of the body as a mass and an outline, in a seemingly restricted situation. Voluntarily surrendering to some implied person or circumstance, each painting's protagonist renounces control and must ultimately have faith in their own choices and life as such. There is a readiness to let go and disperse into the immediate surrounding, loosening and becoming part at the same time. As paintings, these works investigate where the boundaries of fear, pleasure and dignity reside."