Intellectual Uncertainty

'Grotesqueness may appear in anything which is found to be in sufficient grave conflict with accepted standards to arouse emotion'. -- (Clayborough, Arthur. The Grotesque in English Literature)

'The basis of mankind's existence rests on his creating stability out of an otherwise chaotic world.'- (The Fear of Change in the 19th-Century Grotesque)

The basis of my work is to disrupt that stability, bringing people out of their comfort zone and planting them rudely back in the face of chaos and uncertainty, and my latest piece of work is centered on theories of abjection and the uncanny. My approach to making is heavily influenced by works such as: 'Street of Crocodiles' by The Brothers Quay, 'Love and Redemption' by Joel-Peter Witkin, and 'Body Fluids' by Andres Serrano.

My installation strives to evoke ambivalent emotions in the viewer by juxtaposing familiar elements with conflicting surroundings. Traditionally the teddy bear has always been associated with childhood, providing comfort and a sense of security through its unthreatening and cuddly, furry surface. In my work the teddy bears' attempt at life is disrupted; the stop motion animation makes their movements jerky and disjointed. Through their uncanny movements, they act out strange and nightmarish scenarios detaching them from their typical associations. The result is an unsettling, yet strangely captivating experience.