I should have known better
Sumi ink on linen

Artist Statement

Black-Out

Black/Negro. The opposite of white/blanco. Darkness/Obscuridad, the opposite of light.

There is profound depth and life that exists within black; the absence of light. Blackness allows for contemplation inside of our present time and space. It allows for internal or interior command over the space in the mind, emotions and the skin to receive the intuition to enter the realm of time and space. I indulge in the medium Sumi ink with vigor and yet allow it’s command to self-generate forms while I conspire with it. The medium retains the now and the beauty of the essence of the moment. I find liberation with this ancient medium. Connecting with carbon is like utilizing another aspect of space and time in itself. With Sumi ink I am merely the conductor of the beautiful and magnificent essence that comes alive when combined with water and reacts to paper or textiles.

I am always intrigued to watch an image materialize in front of my eyes in the very moment. The process is very curious where both the water and the ink behave mercurially but also bleeds, tears and the hand reveal the essence of the breath behind the words. The ink being black carries weight both metaphorically and physically. I express with gesture, dilute, deface, and BLACK-OUT the text as a catharsis of recording clandestine stream of consciousness, personal dialogue and auto-writing.