Artist/Musician Statement

I am a visual artist, musician and color/hearing synesthete whose work investigates the connections between the visual and the aural. Synesthesia is a neurological condition whereby one sense, such as vision, is stimulated, but another sense, such as aural, is also involuntarily stimulated. The word come from the greek syn, meaning joining, or union, and aesthesis, meaning sensation. To me, art and music are two sides of the same coin, the main difference being only the materials, the tools, used to create. My works is always driven by this desire to connect the visual with the aural.

Connections guide my work and my life. I am fascinated by the contrast and melding of the natural world and the inner emotional world or inner landscape. I explore my place in these worlds, and the connections between humans and other species, particularly canines. I recontextualize the familiar images of the natural world, be they canine or botanical. These natural landscapes and canine portraiture become a layers of psychological landscape, of primordial history.

The art materials I use include markers, pins, mylar, cotton rag paper, acetate and tracing paper. The translucent qualities of my materials allows the viewer to see through layers of meaning, even before the layers unfold themselves. In my music, digital programming enhances the layering of harp, violin and viola sounds to create a soundscape that can be felt as well as heard and experienced multi-sensorially.

My work explores the connections of past, present and future. My interest in Scotland, particularly it's music, the pre-historic Skara Brae settlement, the Calanais Standing Stones, and Fingal's Cave, all inspire my exploration of connections . I am influenced by the ancient celtic belief that life and time is circular, not linear. And just as celtic art and celtic music 'feel' more circular than linear, so do I attempt to develop that concept and feeling in my work.