Installation View, Penticton Art Gallery 

 

Face to Face/The Character of Line

This ever-evolving series of linocuts, lithographs and drawings is a collection of larger-than-life portraits depicting some of the people in my life. I choose to use age-old image-making techniques for these portraits because I believe these time-intensive traditional methods have something quietly provocative to offer in contrast to the instantly available digital image of the twenty-first century.

In these portraits I am exploring the character of specific individuals while also attempting to convey an instance of connection with them. This connection is of particular interest to me because I am increasingly aware of the shift currently taking place in contemporary communications.

As we connect through an evolving network of social media tools, I wonder about the impact these technologies of efficiency have on our interpersonal relationships. We are connected; are we connecting? What happens when we read text messages more frequently than facial expressions? What does presence mean in a digitally mediated society? How does this alter our notions of intimacy?  How efficient do we really need to be in our communications with one another?