Artist Statement

Light is essential to sight and with today’s technology we can have it wherever we want. Where once it ruled our lives, now we rule it. By combining painting, sculpture, and sound with light I give light physicality, so the space it inhabits becomes hard to discern. I challenge traditional painting techniques by creating textured surfaces combined with light; what appears to be solid is just open space. Through the manipulation of light, paint, and binaural beats the work induces an altered state of mind in the viewer, creating the possibility for novel experiences.

A binaural beat occurs when two different sounds that are low and close in frequency to one another are distributed, one to the left ear and the other to the right, using headphones. The two sounds create an illusory sound of the difference between the two. These sounds help to activate certain brainwaves, like delta waves generated in deep sleep, which can put the listener into a relaxed state of mind. While working lateshifts during the past five years of my life, I have often been sleep deprived and outside at abnormal hours where I found myself in and out of consciousness. At times, the world would look different to me, as I was in a trance-like or meditative state.

I manipulate light and color in my paintings, which are inspired by an urban world at night as well as the natural light that can be seen around these times. While listening to binaural beats, I find that I can go into a similar state of mind and become more relaxed. My perception is changed, and I take in my surroundings differently. By using binaural beats combined with my multimedia works, I create objects and environments that give viewers a different experience in perceiving color, light, and the world around them.