Milner Art Gallery - August 2006

Stanley A. Milner Gallery
August 2 - 31
Transformations
Jarom Scott

Artist's statement - Jarom Scott

When producing this body of work I tried to make a conscious break from my usual routine of developing imagery. Compositions were created in a less structured way by using blind contour and several other mark making techniques. I also kept very little in the studio as far as source imagery. Working from memory and reacting to the blind contour enabled me to produce work that wasn’t contrived. This process was very engaging and challenging.

While the work seems to reference recognizable forms such as bodies of water and the atmosphere, it has an out of this world quality. Unidentifiable figurative creatures seem to co-exist in these little worlds. In symbiotic associations, these animate forms: hibernate, grow, migrate, swim, and give birth in an attempt to survive their respective ecosystems. In one work, for example, a large ominous form hovers over a smaller remora like creature in what could be a large body of water. Another picture might read as a blimp-like form in some stage of hard labour, as it hovers over some treetops. These are just a few of my own perceptions, influenced from my own perspective. Indeed, when approaching the work, viewers will draw from their personal experiences and understanding to develop their own narratives.