(An) Artist's Statement

At the moment my work tends to be very eclectic, drifting from topic to another as I search for a structure that lets me make connections between diverse subjects. (Also I'm just not sure what I want to do yet.) Because of this I seem to have many different artist's statements that vary depending on the work in question. Below is an artist's statement I wrote for some of my pieces centered around text:

My work examines the visual nature of language and how symbols such as letters and words gain and hold meaning. Although it is a phenomenon that we take for granted, written languages is essential to the way we understand human nature. As a student of history, I know firsthand how written language preserves the voices and thoughts of people long dead. It’s not just the past- math, science, business, even computers and technology are all based around written language. Without a shared system of meaning we would be intellectually isolated, not only from the past, but also from each other. Despite its importance, the role that language plays in our lives only serves to obscure it from our view. It shapes the world we live in so profoundly that we cannot comprehend its power. I hope to challenge this blindness through the fabrication of alternative forms of language and the exploitation of existing visual cultures surrounding language, such as the formatting of books and scientific illustrations. My work examines how language creates national governments and shapes individual perspectives, and how it contributes to questions of oppression and power. In my search for meaning in words, I pursue the inexpressible.