Artist Statement

My work focuses on mankind's desire to leave behind a legacy, some trait or memory of his/her existence like ancient rulers did in the past, building monuments that showcase their achievements and god-like status.

The works were originally inspired by the Bayon Temple in Siem Reap (Cambodia). Built during the reign of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII during the 12th-13th century, a period when the Khmer monarchy saw themselves as "Devaraja" (god-king). A term used to describe the Khmer Monarchy's train of thought and belief of themselves as both God and King.

Visually the Bayon Temple is amazing. Upon entering the temple grounds you're instantly surrounded by hundreds of gigantic stone faces, all with a peaceful temperament on their face, all raised above you as if their state of being exists on a higher plane than yours, all demanding your undivided attention. What makes the temple even more interesting is some scholars believe each individual face is of King Javayarman VII himself, making a mere man immortal in some degree, an all powerful god as he has outlived everyone of that period and literally set his god-like image in stone for the modern day mystic to contemplate.

Taking the above into account, the work focuses on the faces/heads. Considering the head itself is symbolic of intellect, the mind, wisdom and ruler of the body... the driving force behind all human action. As the head and face are the most identifiable parts of the body and used as a reference point to distinguish someone, it plays a very important role in everyday life and history through pictures and monuments. In ancient times the head was considered to hold the seat of the soul, the essence and life-force of one's life and state of being.

I've placed the heads on the picture plane to compel viewers to feel like they're standing directly in front of someone of great importance, someone who's power and will allowed them to leave behind their unique mark on history. The perspective of looking up at the faces resembles that of any spiritual or religious deity that is held in high esteem, it's always positioned at an elevated level. The notion of Man depicting himself as a God from this perspective I found to be incredibly interesting and aesthetically appealing to the eye as the figure is positioned in a calm meditative posture.

Generally the works have a sky in the background, thus offering viewers breathing space, an opportunity to contemplate the meaning of the heads and in some works where the sky dominates the picture plane, an opportunity to let your imagination drift without restrictions and rules.

I love strong brilliant colours. Colours to me represent energy, life force, vibrancy and I've tried to reflect this in the work, I've tried to capture the energy the faces omit. The colours that I seem to use again and again are reds, yellows and orange... each represents power, prosperity, the sun, fire and passion, whilst the backgrounds usually consist of blue hues or colours which reflect that of the closing day (sunset) or the beginning of the day (sunrise). Sunset is to me closes the day and is reflective of rest and contemplation, whereas sunrise reflects an awakening of the senses, new beginnings.