As a contemporary artist, I am interested in the relationship between technology and the psychological and emotional dimensions of the human experience. In my artistic practice, I use emerging technologies to create interactive installations that encourage introspection and facilitate dialogue about the complexities of the human condition.
To this end, I draw on a diverse range of techniques and technologies, including robotics and emerging technologies, to build immersive environments that present key elements of the our experience in a way that is both approachable and captivating. By crafting artificial ecosystems featuring life-like organisms, I aim to distill and deconstruct the intricate complexities of the human experience, creating a space for contemplation and connection.
I am personally drawn to this subject matter due to my own encounters with severe asthma as a child, which taught me the impact that our environment can have on ourselves and instilled in me a greater appreciation for the things we often take for granted. This struggle also introduced me to the psychological phenomenon called the "negativity bias," which refers to the tendency for individuals to disproportionately attend to and assign greater significance to negative experiences.
This phenomenon greatly influences our perceptions and interactions with the world around us. Using movement, sound, heat, and other sensory elements, and taking inspiration from negativity bias, I create interactive moments that allow for things to go awry, break, malfunction, and change in response to their surroundings. These moments are often presented through photography, video, and sculpture, and are motivated by human emotion, biological structures, and nature. These forms may appear alien, but they are meant to have a sense of familiarity, representing the relationship between myself, my inner emotions and experiences, and my surroundings. By using movement, sound, color, and light, I give these structures and forms the illusion of being living, breathing creatures.
Through these intense, negative experiences, I have come to understand and appreciate the role of the negativity bias in my art, and how it can serve as a wake-up call for those who are living in an unconscious, dream-like state. These moments of struggle and self-reflection are some of the most human and unifying, as they bring us back to a conscious state and allow us to connect with each other on a deeper level. These shared experiences are what bring us together and build relationships within our communities.
By inviting the viewer to engage with and consider their own experiences and emotions through these interactive installations, I hope to promote meaningful connections, facilitate contemplation, and suggest dialogue and the examination of the relationship between technology and the human experience. This allows light to be shed on the profound impact it has on our inner lives and interpersonal relationships.