My paintings are aerial landscapes derived from altered topographical maps and digitally manipulated satellite images. I use color, light, and the self-similarity of fractal patterns to simulate a view of earth as seen from a satellite. My objective is to explore the ideal of the Sublime as practiced by the ninteenth century Luminist landscape painters. By combining formal elements with random fractal gestures that simulate atmospheric disturbances, I seek to conjure a contemporary Sublime fitting to our digital society.
My process begins with taking photographs of topographical maps, which I alter by scratching and abrading the surface. The scratches create web-like filigrees that comb the surface and create random patterns. When the images are transferred to the panel the patterns become magnified, generating virtual gestures of light and rhythm. The scratch marks maintain self-similarity across different scales. The resulting landscapes are disrupted by Luminist bursts of color and bleached out light.
Finally, I add collaged highways that I cut from road atlases. In this context the roads become abstract doodles or filigree that complements the scratch marks. The paintings all have multiple layers of medium and varnish, sanded to create a smooth, uniform surface similar to Formica.
