Mandy Archibald : Art of Soul and EgoContemporary Acrylic Paintings |
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Artist Statement, Bio and ContactI began exploring visual arts as a young child - drawing women and attributing personality characteristics to them in the form of paperdolls. This practice continued and progressed from the crayola medium to large size acrylic paintings. Primarily self taught, I studied acrylic painting and dabbled in mixed media for two summers at an Alberta Summerscapes Art Program. Over the past fifteen years, the paintings have continued to focus on portraiture; however, the relationships between line, highly pigmented colours and balancing drawing with painting incite a more contemporary portrayal. I consider this modern portraiture style to display components that influence our experience of mood, beauty, and self, Concepts of individuality and reflective viewing are central to the work, and the work itself is highly inspired by the vastness of our emotional experiences. My art is an exploration of individualism and interrelation. Individualism, as an emphasized component of contemporary Western society, is visually represented through solitary people in my paintings. I believe that despite societal emphasis on individualism, our basic need for interrelation and communication is not negated. This can be illustrated through the multitude of social networking sites available online and utilized by people while in physical solitude. I explore the concept of individualism by painting people in solitude with neutral expression. The concept of interrelation is explored through the intended effects of grouping the individual pieces together and the subject-viewer relationship formed through viewing. The viewer is required to reflect upon, and in essence, project their thoughts and emotions onto the subject – as the subject conveys nothing overtly. The intent is to provoke reflection upon ones experience and place in contemporary society. Ego is viewed as both integral to the reflective process as well as the primary barrier to self realization. Ultimately, I aim to develop an artistic equivalent of a social network wherein individualism and interrelation coexist, promoting a sense of community in an age of technological confinement. Contact me if you would like to discuss the work!! |
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