Simple statistics can be uncomfortable and threatening when examined closely. My work examines humanity through counting and generically cataloging the world’s population and its disputes. This requires the implementation of the most basic tenet of printmaking: the multiple. Overwhelming numbers of analogous yet antithetic objects reinforce feelings of over-crowdedness and quandary. Numbers are becoming more of a reality for all of us. Whether studying political statistics like voting records, worldwide military deployment figures, or death tolls of all varieties, counting emerges as the primary focus.

The content of my current creative research revolves around the ever expanding human population and the consequences of population expansion. In my opinion, population expansion and the innate human desire for space are the root of many major problems facing our planet today.

Unfortunately for most cultures, one major ramification of our expanding population is violence. This is the motivation for incorporating weaponry and its paraphernalia into my work. Because the militaristic imagery is a strong contextualization of violence, it conjures an immediate response regardless of political affiliation: FEAR.

Another current theme is the machines that create large-scale infrastructure expansions in McMansionvilles, e.g. sprawl towns, across the globe. These machines efficiently and invisibly build thousands of miles of roads per year, encouraging further consumption of fossil fuels. These machines remind us of dinosaurs, and they symbolize a way of life that is consuming itself into extinction. Then… more violence? Has humanity learned anything from its mistakes?

Just the sight of the numbers is frightening. Statistical realities are basis for the numbering systems frequently used in my imagery. Most often, the numbers refer to an estimated amount of people living on Earth at the time the project was produced, or more recently, US military casualties in the war(s). The numbers provide a specific chronology cataloged as a critical design element.

Stamped figures, numbers, text and expressive splat imagery are frequently recurring components in my recent work. I often incorporate printmaking elements on paper with less traditional materials such as resin, plexiglass and 3-D objects. My process sometimes includes sculptural and installation methods to subvert the redundancy of the proverbial rectangle in the final presentation of my prints.