69 x 69

inkjet print, 2009

This piece is my homage to the conspiracy theorists and dreamers. Some classify them as kooks. I like to think they are trying to see what is unseen. To go deeper than the surface. I encourage anyone reading to print it and put it up as posters around their city.

I found the image of the skull after working with dollar bills in the Faculty of Belief series. When you stare at something for hours all kinds of things start to appear.
Habenae Est non Vestri Amicus (The Government is Not Your Friend) Traffic Barrel at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

dimensions variable

inkjet prints on traffic barrel, 2009

Habenae Est non Vestri Amicus (The Government is Not Your Friend) Traffic Cone at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

dimensions variable

inkjet prints on traffic cone, 2009

Habenae Est non Vestri Amicus (The Government is Not Your Friend) and Devil’s Head at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

69″ x 138″

inkjet prints, 2009 and 2010

Habenae Est non Vestri Amicus (The Government is Not Your Friend) and Devil’s Head at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

69″ x 138″

inkjet prints, 2009 and 2010

Habenae Est non Vestri Amicus (The Government is Not Your Friend) posters at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

dimensions variable

inkjet prints, 2010

Devil’s Head

69″ x 69″

inkjet print, 2010

In 1954 the Canadian government issued new currency designs. Rather quickly people started spotting the face of a devil behind the ear of Queen Elizabeth. This image was so widely seen that the currency was redesigned soon after.

The devil behind the ear of the Queen is a perfect metaphor for how governments act.

Habenae Est non Vestri Amicus (The Government is Not Your Friend) and Devil’s Head at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

69″ x 138″

inkjet prints, 2009 and 2010

Habenae Est non Vestri Amicus (The Government is Not Your Friend) and Devil’s Head at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

69″ x 138″

inkjet prints, 2009 and 2010

Acrylic on Canvas

46 inches wide

2009

This work has a very special meaning to me. On April 1, 1996 my brother, David, was killed in a car accident. My brother and I had a lot of good times together. Among his many hobbies was bow hunting. This is an enlargement of a small practice target he would hone his skills with. We always got a kick out of the crazed, long toothed prairie dog. For me this piece is not only about what the image is referring to. The image itself is a trigger. When I see it my mind is flooded with a thousand memories. Some good, some painful.

Sabertooth Prairie Dog mural at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

dimensions variable

latex paint, 2010

Sabertooth Prairie Dog poster at Eyedrum’s Living Walls Exhibition

69″ x 69″

inkjet print, 2010

7 Crosses. 6 Porn Stars and 1 child. Who does God love more?

20 x 86 inches Large Format Inkjet Print

2009

This is a large format inkjet print of seven grainy close-up worn crosses. The images started very small and were enlarged in scale and resolution. This coupled with adding grain and several color adjustments creates a low resolution “ugliness” in a world of high resolution perfection. The images were retouched to the far side of graininess to unearth youthful memories of young boys looking at their father’s porn stash.

The arrangement of the crosses resembles that of a firing line in this case awaiting judgement. I chose the number 7 because of it’s symbols in apocalyptic literature. It often represents completeness, perfection and fullness.

The title of the piece ‘7 Crosses. 6 Porn Stars and 1 child. Who does God love more?’ brings the concept around. Who does God love more, the guilty or the innocent?

Ego

Mixed Media

28 inches tall x 35 inches long x 20 inches wide

2009

This is a smaller sculpture. The dimensions are 28 inches high, 35 inches long and 20 inches wide. At first glance simple trophy parts extrude out making an armored animal. Every square inch glistens and radiates a cheap gold color. Upon closer inspection the trophy parts are altered. Shards of gold plastic protrude out of winged victory’s mouth, chest, back and crotch. Sometimes her wings are tipped or her forehead bears a horn. Other times gold plastic grows out of her back and rises above her head. All the while clear hot glue oozes from crevices. Strings of it intertwine like spider webs.

When I was younger I was heavily into car audio. Most kids outgrow this phase. I kept going. I competed heavily for a couple of years, going to almost every show I could go to. I amassed 30+ trophies, titles and awards. A lot of serious car guys throw their trophies out. I kept a few sentimental ones. The rest are what you see here.

For some praise is heaped upon them and bounces off. They are not accepting of good things coming to them. Some get praise, file it away and keep doing what they do. Some wear it like a badge. Most often this repels people. This is what is illustrated here.

I told you so

Mixed media

87 inches tall x 60 inches wide

2009

This work is a pox on the religious finger-pointers who sit on the sidelines. A lot of these people belong to an apocalyptic faith has slowly grown in number over the last century. Known especially for their brand of escapism which releases them from responsibility. The same faith they proclaim actually charges them with the opposite: to go accept and love the world. This piece is littered with images of what’s wrong with the world; obese children, nuclear war, triple E breast implants, and on and on. All buried under a gooey coating of gold and silver glitter.

Untitled

16 inches wide x 25 inches high x 10 inches long

Mixed Media

2009

I found this piece could not leave my mind for days after I came up with it. It is influenced by a piece from Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2009 collection. The model wore a coral snake print dress. She also wore small patterned metal squares that covered her head, neck and arms. These were jeweled and tied together. It formed a tapestry that covered anything the dress didn’t. I wondered what it must be like to be encased in something. Beautiful or not it must feel like wearing a wet sweater.

To begin this piece I started by studying classic busts from ancient and current times. By cutting foam into the desired shape I was able to achieve the from I wanted and keep the weight down. I intentionally gave the nose a worn down look as if it was some ancient relic that survived war and famine. I then began covering it in clear silicone and gold glitter. Clear silicone takes a back seat to whatever you mix it with. The piece looks like if you touch it you will get glitter everywhere. Not true.

Ink on unprimed canvas 2008-2009

Dimensions Variable

(buildings 60 inches wide x 75 inches tall, folded 10 – 30 inches wide x 60 inches tall)

I’ve often been fascinated by conspiracy theories and the people that believe in them.

In taking on the investigation of the 9/11 conspiracy theories I decided to lighten the mood in their physicality and present the story in a set of folded up dollar bills. Long an internet sensation, the folded bills are only part of the story. In taking on hat subject I decided to address it in a disarming manner, by folding up dollar bills and drawing them in an array of colors.

Each bill is the actual proportions then folded down. Using a larger scale and color inks I force the viewer to reengage the familiar. This is further reinforced with the absence of the color green. A lot of planning goes into each bill. The process begins by each bill is meticulously folded, glued into place, then mounted on top of a custom stretched canvas. Due to the unproven nature of the conspiracy theory itself. It has a few rough edges that still need to be worked out. Each image takes some reading into, some faith on the part of the viewer. Similarly, when confronting the evidence of the conspiracy, faith and openness are required. Let’s reopen a case that was tried in the media.

The Five dollar bill portraying a perfect and untouched Twin Towers in the early morning hours of September 11th.

The Ten dollar bill showing the damaged Twin Towers after the attack.

The Fifty showing the Twin Towers coming down.

The One hundred showing the smoldering pile of rubble after the Twin Towers had fallen.

The Five sided building just above the fold of the Five dollar bill represents the Pentagon before being attacked.

The Twenty dollar bill shows a low lying building on fire which represents the Pentagon in flames.

The Ten folded differently shows the World Trade Center 7 building on fire. This is a very important piece as it is the cornerstone of many September 11th conspiracy theories.

The Fifty dollar bill shows a Capital building untouched. Another target not hit?

Osama Bin Laden, one of the well-known faces of the 9/11 attacks.

Muhammad Atta piloted one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center Towers.

Hami Hanjour was one of the hijackers whose plane crashed into the Pentagon.

Muhammad Atef was one of the masterminds that planned the 9/11 attacks.

United and American were the airlines the hijackers flew with.

Here are a few questions.

14 of the 19 hijackers were on the terrorist watch list. Why did all of the hijackers buy tickets using their real names? Hani Hanjour, who had been on the terrorist watch list for over 3 years, varied his name five different ways (including ‘Hami’) when living in the United States. When it came time to buy a plane ticket though, why did he use his real name?

Were Osama Bin Laden and Muhammed Atef two of the supposed masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks? Or was something else going on? Let’s take a look at World Trade Center 7. The terrorists targeted the Pentagon (which they dubbed “The Faculty of Fine Arts”), the Twin Towers (“The Faculty of Town Planning”) and the Capital (“The Faculty of Law”). WTC 7 was never a target. Why did the BBC report live that WTC 7 had collapsed with the building still standing in the background? The WTC 7 building collapsed 23 minutes later. The reporter’s live connection mysteriously failed 5 minutes before the collapse.

Larry Silverstein had acquired the lease of the World Trade Centers in the spring of 2001. Why did he rework the insurance policy the summer before the attacks, making sure it was completely covered for acts of terrorism? He had originally invested 15 million in the property. His insurance claim rewarded him 7 billion.

World Trade Center 1, 2 and 7 reportedly came down as a result of office fires and jet impact. There were pools of molten iron at the base of the debris of the towers. Steel is melted creating molten iron or molten steel at 3000 degrees. The office fires and jet fuel can only burn between 1400 and 1600 degrees. Why are there thermite particles in all of the dust throughout lower Manhattan? Thermite is a high tech incendiary that is used to cut through steel like a hot knife through butter. Nano-thermite (one thousand times smaller than a human hair), like what was found, is only produced by very sophisticated defense department laboratories. How did this end up in the dust that was caked all over lower Manhattan?

Why wasn’t one seat cushion, piece of the engine or vertical stabilizer was recovered from the Pentagon? CNN reported live that it didn’t look like a plane had crashed there at all. The official explanation is the jet fuel vaporized the entire plane. The only damage to the outer wall of the Pentagon, before one of the walls collapsed due to fire, was a hole 16 ft wide. Why is there no damage when two engines 9 ft x 12 ft and weighing 6 tons hit the Pentagon at over 500 mph? Why do the five frames of footage we have not show a plane crashing into the Pentagon?

So what really happened? We may never know. The most important thing is to start a dialogue. To keep seeking the truth. To keep asking questions.

On the seemingly implausible chance any of this is true, what does it mean? How does it change my life? True or not I must believe in goodness, love and hope. I must believe that God is good.

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. – Albert Einstein

Eat Me

40 inches wide x 63 inches  high

Ink on Canvas

2009

This is a very large recreation of a folded dollar bill. It is an homage to rebels, skeptics and conspiracy theorists who out of patriotic duty never stop questioning, revealing, provoking and thinking. It’s an open letter of defiance to whomever holds tenure at the white house. While the prominence of the white house is dominates, the flag on top of the white house signifies there is adequate blame to go around to the rest of the government.

After test folding to determine where the design will land it is meticulously transferred onto raw, unprimed canvas. Once the drawing is finished it is stretched out on the floor and carefully folded up. Being that the piece starts in the correct proportion to a dollar bill the canvas is around 175 inches long. Seeing it on the ground gives enough distance to see it correctly which is much too large to be folded on a table. Once properly folded together it is then glued together. Then a custom canvas and stretcher bars are made and the bill is glued down. To shadow it and the bill the front bill is about half an inch larger all around than the stretched canvas behind it. This gives the illusion of a thin bill that is folded while also giving it the rigidity to hang on or lean against a wall.

I Would Die Tonight for My Beliefs

24 inches wide x 33.5 inches high x 2 inches long

Clear Polyester Resin, Coat Hanger, Clear Decal

2007

This is a wall hanging sculpture made of clear polyester resin. Across the chest is a clear decal that reads “I would die tonight for my beliefs”. It’s a transparent copy of an actual shirt I have from the hardcore band ‘No Innocent Victim’.

I like the shirt a lot but I wouldn’t wear it as much as other shirts I had. I realized I was actually a little embarrassed to wear it in public. This led to another realization. That deep down I was ashamed of my beliefs and wanted to keep them hidden. No one should be ashamed of their beliefs.