Artist Statement Revisted

I have just applied for an exhibition at the ODD gallery in Dawson City, Yukon. This required a revisiting of my artist statement (every artist's constant work-in-progress) with particular application to the project i wish to show. Here it is...

"  As an artist, I tend to work most in drawing and print-making. And while ultimately this type of production is grounded in a love of storytelling, I remain somewhat conflicted between a belief in the powers of myth and history, a desire for truth, and a distrust of documented 'fact'. While not mutually exclusive, these elements must be woven together with some caution and critical awareness.

However, I remain entranced by the heroes and anti-heroes of our Canadian past and present, the struggle and beauty of life on this land, and the cycles of human endeavor and emotion that recall us to humanity. I often refer to old photographs, nature encyclopaedias, community journals and history books for inspiration and information. These sources, however, allow for much that is unwritten, unphotographed, and untold to be imagined.

Ambiguity then, as well as mystery, history, issues of land, isolation, and the suggestion of a supernatural North are central themes in a scattered attempt to pin down fragments of a collective story, an elusive national mythology. It is my story, but also perhaps it is the story of a uniquely Canadian experience or memory; a journey of sorts toward identity and meaning and culture.  "