CYCLES

FEATURING PERSONAL EMPIRE SERIES

COLLISION // $400 // 35.5 x 35.5 cm // oil on canvas

SEEKING DISCOVERY // $395 // 55 x 65 cm // oil on canvas

BREATHE // $495 // 61 x 66 cm // oil on canvas

ATTAINABLE BONES (ARCH) // $370 // 51 x 45 cm // oil on canvas (SOLD)

DESTRUCTING PAST IMPRISONMENTS // $350 // 41 x 41 cm // oil on canvas

FRAMEWORK // $400 // 35.5 x 61.5 cm // oil on canvas

DIVERSE VEINS (BLUEPRINT) // $550 // 46 x 46 cm // oil on canvas

TRANSPARENCY // $495 // 62.5 x 68 cm // oil on canvas


ARTIST STATEMENT // PERSONAL EMPIRE

In this exhibition called Personal Empire I have explored what it means to be human. I have pondered the definition of the church as a building and a people group. I have dived into the waters of the Ecclesia—the church of God. And as I rose from those waters I realized that just how much each stroke of the brush is different so is each human on this planet. Some strokes may look the same and they sure as heck might be the same color... but some don’t look the same and some aren’t the same; yet they all came together to form a painting. A painting then transformed into a series and that series into a statement—we are human and we have our own personal empire to attain for more reasons than just ourselves.

The contrast of structure and flow—how much of each do we need? Is it balance we’re after, or is it just plain and simple truth?

Is balance actually attainable for a human to achieve on their own? Can structure make up a human’s frame while flow runs through their veins? Isn’t that what bones are and blood is for?

Our skeleton is our personal frame, our built-in structure; our veins the passage ways for flow. What would the church look like if broken out from its walls? Why can’t life be what it is: diverse. As vast as the universe, so is the spirit inside us. Our bodies merely a frame of what they contain.

What are we called to regarding control and freedom; structure and flow? Don’t we need boundaries and guidelines to head in the ‘right’ direction? Then again, what is life without freedom? It is stiff and uncomfortable. Personal Empire is a search for the discovery of how to be both effective and fun, disciplined and enthused, structuredand groovy in flow.

The exploration I have taken with Personal Empire has helped me come to a realization that we are to “Live in the space of letting go” (a quote by Oprah, dare I quote her). It’s hard to surrender when you don’t know whom you are surrendering to. Personal Empire has reminded me that I surrender to God Almighty, our Creator, who knows the ins-and- outs of structure and flow—nature and Kingdom.