mao08

My art practice is intended as a playful counterpoint to the darker images and ideas that inundate us through mass culture. I use irony and humor to evoke a sense of parody in my work. As an artist I am interested in the manipulation of images from everyday life and popular culture and how this visual information can be redirected and give life to my creations.
Much of my work references childhood obsessions, toys and iconic figures from my own personal past. The images of the boxer and the wrestler were larger than life to me as a child and represented an adult invincibility. As an adult I am able to step back and remake these iconic figures into toy like objects that reveal their vulnerability as ambassadors of the adult world. I use clay, wood and the printed image in a way that emphasizes the bulk of the material and the two dimensionality of the image. My works are faceted as though cut from a single stone, simplifying their features and giving an impression of awkwardness.
The found image allows me to connect with my viewers immediately as well allow them to place their own associations within the work. I seek to emphasize the intricacies of everyday life.