Ever since I began creating art, I have always been drawn towards shape. I have been fascinated with the way in which shape is defined by differentiation, and how different shapes interact. This has been particularly true of my two dimensional work. The simplicity of the flat plane is the perfect space to explore the different facets of shape. I have used drawing and painting to explore the ways that shape can defined (such as through differentiation of color, texture, pattern, etc.) and the ways in which shapes interact to form new shapes. Inherent in this interest in shape is an interest in the idea of the line, and the way in which a line can either be an object in itself, or it can be implied as the perimeter of a shape.

             In developing my interest in the idea of shape, I became interested in the visual aesthetics of maps, and the work that I have done in the last year has revolved around the use of this aesthetic. In a visual sense, an overhead map is simply a division of the flat plane into various shapes which are meant to represent cities, states, elevations of land, differentiation between land and water, or any number of things depending on the map.

             What initially drew me to use maps in my work was simply the aesthetic qualities of the map, and how the shapes in a map were formed and interacted. However, as I explored more about maps as objects separate from their aesthetic qualities, I became more and more interested in how they functioned as informational objects. I became interested in the way a place can be represented (or mis-represented) by using the visual elements of shape, pattern, and color. The map attempts to translate a real place in the world into a two dimensional visual representation, and this representation is affected by specific elements of a place such as history, development, demographics, topology, environment, etc.

             It is this dichotomy between the informational aspect of a map and the aesthetic aspect of a map in which the meaning of my works is contained. For my paintings, I begin by selecting a map which contains a large number of partitioned areas (such as the United States). Into this map, I trace each of these partitioned areas into separate shapes, which I then draw onto the canvas freehand. I do not trace these shapes onto the canvas because this allows me to skew the size and shape of each area depending on my own discretion, allowing for a primary layer of subjectivity in the map. I then use tape to partition off each shape on the canvas. Within these shapes, I paint a certain pattern or design which represents the place on the map. These patterns are highly subjective and depend solely on my own beliefs and experiences of place as well as my own feelings about pattern and color. I do however attempt to relate the paintings back to reality, for example, by using simplified patterns of blue for bodies of water and green or brown for parks or other unincorporated areas. The resulting paintings are subjective maps, meant to visually express my own experiences and beliefs of a certain place. My drawings function in the same way, but focus less on the use of pattern and more on the use of shape and color to derive meaning.