In my art, I attempt to portray scenes from the lives of people during routine or generally uninteresting events. I am drawn to everyday occurrences. My sketchbook is filled with images of men and women doing anything from athletic stretches to feeding goldfish. By depicting figures passively completing trivial or ordinary tasks in a business setting, I aim to underscore the lack of fulfillment and purpose that I have found in the professional world.
I chose to paint on identically sized, blank skateboard decks for the uniformity and that they are consumable products. I also enjoy the inherent humor in depicting some of the least exciting facets of adult life on objects that embody youth and subculture. I use enamel paint to make the finished work look as close to a commercially printed skateboard as possible.
In this body of work, I am seeking to address the corporate infiltration of counterculture. In recent decades, large companies have begun buying their way into previously marginalized lifestyles. As the cultures surrounding skateboarding and punk rock have grown in popularity, so too has the desire to co-opt and repackage them for profit. It is my belief that such commercial involvement is not only disingenuous, but it neutralizes any threat that a counterculture might pose to the prevailing social framework. Growing up, skateboarding had always been about finding my own path. As an adult, the importance of this notion has been reinforced by my discomfort with corporate media, cultural sanctimony, and the exploitative nature of capitalism.
At the same time, my work is about an internal war with my perception of adulthood. I am not at ease with the idea that financial stability should be predicated upon the abandonment of one’s personal ambitions. We’re told to “grow up” by teachers, cops, businessmen, and corrupt politicians. We’ve been surrounded with instructions on how to live our lives, most of which seem to be designed to hold us in place, preventing us from engaging in any serious analysis of current social and political systems. They’ve promised us security at the expense of autonomy. For this, I am expressing my early disenchantment with the life we’re supposed to live, as well as the frustration that comes with my inability to assimilate.