A special kind of seeing
An artwork can function like the lens of a microscope. By adjusting the focal length, lighting and contrast the viewer may see different aspects of an object. Once you have calibrated it to highlight one thing, you can take a step back and let someone else take a look. This person will see exactly what you saw. It is not like pointing at something in a landscape, having to explain what it is you noticed and then hoping that the other person might focus on the same thing as you. You are not bound by the vagueness of language. The person you are showing something to has the focus already set on that minute detail you wanted him or her to see.In many ways, this mirrors my own practice: much of my work revolves around the process of noticing. Few things give me the same sense of satisfaction as the moment I perceive something for the first time. I hope my paintings offer a glimpse of this insatiable curiosity.
For me, painting is an inquisitive process. Painting commands a special kind of seeing. It demands a perception that is searching, that ideally amounts to a seeing that is not necessarily akin to the visionary, but more like that of a scientist who seeks to grasp the story behind what is naturally and easily there to be seen.